Chuck vs the Job
by smokeater159
Summary: Set in Season 1, beginning with Chuck vs. the Crown Victoria. Chuck is fed up with Sarah constantly shutting him down, and he decides to deal with this - he must become a spy. What happens when Chuck decides to embrace his destiny a little earlier than in the show? Time to find out! Of course it's a Chara story. Some minor language and brief adult themes.
1. Chapter 1 Chuck vs The Job

**A/N: My first story in general, and my first one for Chuck. Updates hopefully will be weekly, but that is going to depend on how much paramedic school owns my life that particular week.**

 **I do not own Chuck, much to my dismay, but if someone could make that happen please let me know.**

Chuck vs. the Job

Chapter 1

Chuck Bartowski solemnly hung the last ornament on the Christmas tree as he listened to the soft ministrations of Christmas Carols by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. This is the first Christmas in several years that he has had to decorate the tree alone and certainly the first where his mind was in so many different places at once. On the one hand he was missing his beloved sister Ellie as she was working a late shift at Westside Medical Center. Normally this type of activity was something the two siblings would do together, but unfortunately the hectic nature of an accomplished Neurologist and the insanity of Chuck's newfound life as a pseudo-secret agent have prevented any such chance. Chuck even spared a moment of longing for his (probably) soon-to-be brother-in-law Devon Woodcomb. This man who charmed his sister and in turn worked his way into Chuck's heart was missed just as much as his sister. After seeing how much Devon made his sister happy, Chuck happily welcomed this 'awesome' specimen to his family, and couldn't ask for a better partner for his sister.

Chuck's mind was going several different directions as he considered the events of the past few days. First and foremost, the kiss! That passionate, breath taking kiss that he had shared with his angelic CIA handler, Sarah Walker has not left his mind since the instant she began the kiss. That moment, so terrifying as he thought his life was ending, was also the best moment of his life as he finally shared a kiss – a _real_ kiss – with the woman who was quickly beginning to mean so much to him. And mere hours after this moment of heaven-on-earth, his world took a nasty summersault as his former enemy Bryce Larkin returned from the dead.

Chuck mulled over the whirlwind of events that occurred since that particular revelation – being used as a human shield, finding Bryce kissing Sarah, seeing Bryce shot again by his other CIA handler John Casey (and yet _still_ not dying), the shootout in the Buymore, being used as a human shield _yet again_ in 24 hours, and finally the unimaginable pain of being shot in the Kevlar vest by Bryce himself. _Well,_ Chuck mused, _I was already stabbed in the back by the son-of-a-bitch; I guess being shot was only logical_.

But then again, was Bryce a 'son-of-a-bitch?' After all, the recent recording he and Sarah viewed of Bryce's conversation with Professor Fleming back at Stanford showed that Bryce had been looking out for Chuck all along. No, Bryce was still his friend and always had been. Now that Chuck had that particular knowledge he would never wish his friend ill-will again. Despite that unfortunate debacle he now found himself in with Sarah, when you became friends with Chuck Bartowski, you gained a fiercely loyal friend for life.

With that satisfying revelation of his continued friendship, Chuck's thoughts moved to the subject of his current case of the winter blues – Sarah Walker, the goddess Aphrodite herself. From the moment Chuck's chocolate brown eyes locked with her sparkling baby blue's he knew he was done for. Growing up, Chuck had always been enamored with the idea of love at first sight, but was never sure that he actually believed in it. The idea certainly held a high amount of appeal to him, but the highly logical side of his brain scoffed at such a silly notion. And yet, the day that Sarah Walker fake-broke her cell phone, he knew that it wasn't such a silly idea after all.

But despite that undeniable fact that Charles Irving Bartowski – brilliant, expelled Stanford student and Intersect Extraordinaire – was in love with his CIA handler Sarah, he had never been treated as coldly as he had been by the very love of his life. Ever since he flashed on a counterfeit bill on Lon Kirk's private yacht (after the terrifying few hours where he wasn't sure if she was even still in his life or not), Sarah had not only been distant, she had been downright cold. _I guess living in California, it is nice to feel a Christmas-appropriate chill for once,_ Chuck mused with a bitter smile.

Suddenly, Chuck's musings were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. He put the box of ornaments down on the table and opened the door. His breath caught as he caught sight of the golden-haired angel that he simultaneously wanted to be with all night and yet not see at all.

"Ellie or awesome home?" Sarah asked without as much as a hello before she began entering the apartment.

"No," Chuck answered, closing the door. "They're at work, and hello to you too." _Jerk._ Chuck added in his head, immediately regretting even the silent insult.

"What the hell happened today?"

"I-I don't know, I don't get it. I had a flash."

Chuck could see the look of disbelief flash across Sarah's dark sapphire eyes before she answered as he once again marveled at how her gorgeous eyes changed with her mood.

"Right when I went below deck with Kirk. It's pretty convenient timing I would say."

Chuck furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about?"

Sarah's irritation began to bubble to the surface.

"Just when you thought that I was getting intimate with Kirk you decided to have a flash."

Chuck instantly felt his blood began to boil. _How dare she!_ He didn't ask for this damn thing in his head but he'd like to think he was serving his country honorably. Other than not wanting to be thrown in a bunker ( _because_ that _is such an overreaction to the situation?)_ he had gone along with every whim of the government and gone quite a bit out of his comfort zone as Nerd Herd supervisor. He was struggling to make the best of an impossible situation and she had the _gull_ to insinuate that he was lying about a national security concern out of _jealousy_?

"What exactly are you in implying? That I faked a flash? That I'm a flash faker?"

"You know…I think we need to discuss the fact that you let your emotions get in the way today,"

" _My_ emotions?" Chuck asked, shocked.

"Things have been a little _off_ since the incident, Chuck."

Chuck began to see red. _The Incident?_

"Really? And what incident are you referring to, Agent walker, huh? Could it be the incident where you planted a kiss on me right before a bomb was supposed to go off, ending our lives? That same kiss right before your boyfriend Bryce came back from the dead, that kiss?"

As Chuck was saying this he watched the emotions in Sarah's eyes as she formulated her response. Anger – definitely anger – and another emotion, as yet unseen by Chuck. _Was that fear?_ Chuck wondered.

"Stop saying kiss, it happened! Ok? What's done is done; can we just not talk about it, please?"

"Ok, fine, absolutely, of course! Just answer me one little thing." Chuck said, holding his forefinger and thumb an inch apart for emphasis.

"Chuck -" Sarah began before he raised his voice, cutting her off.

"Did you kiss me that night because you thought we were gonna die and mine were the most _convenient_ lips around, or was it actually about _me?_ "

Sarah paused with that same mixture of emotions in her eyes.

She took a breath and then proceeded to punch him in the gut – figuratively anyway.

"What happened was a mistake…"

Chuck felt the breath go out of him as Sarah turned and stormed past him.

"One I will not make again."

Chuck closed his eyes and waited, it was several moments before he remembered he needed to breathe. He realized he was in way over his head as the pain began to sear through his heart. If not for the emotional scene that just played out in front of him, he may have seriously begun to worry that he was having a heart attack at 25-years-old. Chuck looked sadly at the forgotten box of ornaments, and then walked to his room. On his dresser he held his mother's charm bracelet that he had hoped to give to Sarah in a few weeks for Christmas.

Chuck walked into the kitchen and grabbed his bottle of _Johnnie Walker Black Label_ – he had once been told by Casey that Black Label is the best remedy for a regrets, and of regrets he had plenty. He was sick of being shut down by Sarah, only to be given hope a few days later before having his heart brutally ripped out again. If she would have just stopped sending him mixed signals, he could deal with it.

 _No more_ , he thought. It was time to put up or shut up. The last few weeks, he'd been starting to consider the direction his life was taking. After learning that he was already being monitored for CIA recruitment, the idea had already been brewing in his head. He had always known that he was meant for more than just the Buymore, and now he had the means to change his destiny. It was time to become a spy, and give in to what he should have been doing with his life all along.

Chuck smiled as the surreal thought that had just crossed his mind. _Now to convince the brass._

Chuck peeked out his blinds at John Casey's apartment across the courtyard – all dark. _Better be sure_ , Chuck thought.

"Ronald Reagan was the absolute worst President that has ever lived, and he was a closet-communist." Chuck swallowed hard as he looked out at the courtyard, ready for the onslaught of bullets that would surely riddle his body if John Casey was home listening to surveillance feeds. All appeared safe, and furthermore he noticed Casey's beloved new Crown Victoria was nowhere to be seen.

"Just kidding, Casey, please no firearms in the courtyard." Chuck stated to the bugs.

Chuck opened his door and walked across the courtyard, remembering the many conversations he had had with Sarah near that fountain. He reached the door to Casey's apartment and took out the key he had given him for emergencies. Chuck opened the door and entered, feeling the immediate and irrational fear that the Ghost of Ronald Reagan was going to chase him from the home of his handler and friend. Chuck walked over to the complex set-up of computers that the NSA had provided the team, pressing the power button on the wall-mounted flat screen.

"Identity Confirmed – Charles Bartowski, Codenamed Charles Carmichael, A.K.A. 'Moron.'" A cool, electronic female voice stated.

"Really Casey?" Chuck fumed. The moron jokes were really starting to get old; he had a flipping 4.0 GPA at Stanford for crying out loud – prior to being expelled of course.

"Agent John Casey not recognized in the vicinity, activating emergency distress protocol."

 _Oh crap._

"No, no, no! No emergency here! Deactivate distress protocol! Everything's under control, situation normal. Everything's perfectly alright now. We're fine, we're all fine here, now, thank you…how are you?"

"Distress protocol deactivated, contacting Brigadier General Diane Beckman."

"Bartowski! What in the world is going on?" The general was lying in bed, her hair disheveled and a sleep mask on top of her head.

"Uhhhh good evening General…I was just wanting to talk about a few things but this may have been a bad time, I guess this could have waited till a more decent time. Not that you don't look decent right now, you look dapper as always but you clearly were asleep and everyone knows how important sleep is to prevent wrinkles. Not that you have –"

"Bartowski, shut up!" Beckman interrupted his babbling.

"Yes ma'am."

The screen split and Graham's face entered the left side of the screen, wearing some silk pajamas with a tumbler of amber liquid in his left hand.

"Any reason our homes are being bombarded with emergency sirens and 'distress signals?' What is it Bartowski, and where are Agent's Walker and Casey?" Graham asked, clearly annoyed but more amused by the General's disheveled appearance.

"Sorry Sir and Ma'am, I needed to speak with the both of you and Casey has a fail-safe on his computer for me being alone. I apologize." Chuck began in a respectful tone.

"Get on with it Bartowski." The General growled, but with a curious undertone now.

"Sir, Ma'am, I think it is time that I take a more professional approach to the intersect project. I feel I can be a benefit to this team if I take a more active role, and frankly I think the best way to do this is if I become a spy."

Chuck paused, looking at the two intimidating intelligence officers. He prepared to be yelled at, hung up on and reprimanded, but what he was not prepared for was laughter. General Beckman suddenly burst out into loud, raucous laughter and it was the most unsettling thing Chuck had ever heard.

"Mr. Bartowski, do you mean to tell me that you brutally woke me from my sleep to tell me a joke? Well I appreciate jokes as much as the next General, and that, I must say, takes the cake. Well done, Bartowski, I really needed that."

Chuck seethed. "General, I'm not joking, I'm serious! Director Graham?"

The Deputy Director of Operations of the CIA was the stark opposite of his NSA counterpart. He was stoic and thoughtful, and regarded Chuck with penetrating eyes as he took a long sip from his tumbler.

"Actually Diane, I was thinking much the same thing. But before I entertain this notion, I would be interested in hearing your reasoning, Chuck."

Chuck sat, stunned. First, he was stunned because the director had never, ever used his first name before. Second, he expected to have to argue for several minutes before any attempt at support was witnessed from either party. He decided if he was going to go behind Sarah's back, he may as well _fully_ go behind her back.

"Well Director, it was several things. First, as the missions progress and I find myself in the field more, I feel it would be safer for myself, the team, and the country if I could hold my own instead of tying up my handlers to protect me. Furthermore, I…I've kept something from you. The Intel that Codename: Glass Castle had downloaded was indeed destroyed, but not before I was able to view some of the files." Chuck began. Going behind Sarah's back is not the same as betraying her and throwing her under the bus for hiding the Intel, he couldn't reveal that she was the one who destroyed the evidence. _Especially since she did it to protect me._

Chuck took a breath before continuing. "The only file I was able to view before the disc was destroyed was a single entry under the name 'Chuck Bartowski.' The file was supposed to be an interview of myself with Professor Fleming as he attempted to recruit me; however Bryce prevented me from receiving his messages. The data showed that Bryce was planning on planting the stolen tests in my room, framing me to get me kicked out of Stanford so I wouldn't be recruited into the CIA. On the disk, Professor Fleming stated that I demonstrated 98% retention of the subliminal images in the exam and should be considered for Operation: Omaha. General, Director, what does that mean?"

The General was sitting up now with a serious and impressed look on her face as Graham let out a low whistle.

"It means, Bartowski, that you were intended to be the first human intersect all along. Operation: Omaha is the codename for the intersect project. After learning that the only individual to score high enough on the exam was caught cheating, it was determined that the intersect could only ever be a computer. Clearly, we were wrong," Beckman paused, looking at Chuck with a much softer scowl than she usually wore. "Graham, could we talk on a private line? Chuck, wait here."

The screen went blank as Chuck looked around; wondering what was going to happen. Suddenly the door slammed open.

"Moron! What in the hell are you doing here?" Casey was home.

"Heyyy Casey…I bet this looks kind of odd, huh?" Chuck laughed nervously as Casey looked at him with pure death in his eyes.

"Looks odd? Well it sounds a hell of a lot worse. You think I don't monitor surveillance when I'm not home? What exactly is that you had to say about our _phenomenal_ 40th president?"

Casey emphasized his point by shoving the muzzle of his Sig P229 under Chuck's chin.

Chuck swallowed before answering, "He was one of the best and most progressive president's we have ever had?"

Casey grunted as he reengaged the safety on his sidearm.

"So…you think you want to be a man? You think you have what it takes to become a real spy, cover my back?" Casey regarded him thoughtfully, with a new grunt that Chuck classified as #22… _grudgingly impressed?_

"How did you know? Casey…do you bug your own home?" Chuck asked in astonishment. Casey just smiled a closed-mouth smile and shrugged. "Casey, one day we need to have a serious talk about your trust issues…and you definition of the word privacy."

Casey grunted again – #2, moron – and sat down at his table.

"You never answered my question. You think you can be a spy?"

Chuck paused as he considered his answer. "Casey, I need to do something with my life. I assume you already heard my reasoning to the General and the Director?" Casey Nodded.

"Then you know why I need to do this. This has always been my destiny, Bryce just delayed it. I'm tired of being left in the car while you and Sarah put your lives on the line for me. I'm sure you heard my conversation with Sarah in the living room, we can talk about that later as well, but she's not the only one I've come to care about, big guy. You may laugh, but I've come to consider you my friend, and my partner, and I…I need to do my part in this partnership."

Casey just looked at him after his speech before standing and walking to his kitchen. He came back with two tumblers of Johnnie Walker.

"I thought the Black Label was for regrets?" Chuck asked with a frown.

"This is Red Label, this is for celebrating. While I wouldn't say I am jumping for joy exactly, I'm proud of you kid. This is a huge decision…one you may not live through telling Walker about." Casey said.

"Why do you say that? She doesn't care about anything more than the intersect…and Bryce"

Casey grunted, #2 again. "If you believe that then you're a bigger idiot than even I thought."

Chuck just frowned some more as he took a swig of his drink.

The monitor beeped as the General and Graham came back online.

"Ah, Major Casey, I'm glad you're here," The General Began.

"Ma'am, Sir." Casey nodded to each in turn, as Graham raised his glass to the Major.

"Bartowski, after much consideration, we commend you on a tough choice. Be warned, this decision is not to be taken lightly. Major Casey will be able to discuss the decision at length with you, but if you decide to undertake the task, your training will begin immediately. Due to your highly classified situation, you will need to be extracted from Burbank and flown here, to D.C. for your training. Major, you may call in whatever resources you need to make this happen. Good luck to you both and goodnight."

With that, the screen went black once more and Chuck turned to Casey.

"Chuck, you need to really understand what you're getting yourself into. If you do this, you're going to have to do it all the way. That means no more screaming when you see blood, and you're going to be the one who draws some of that blood eventually. Walker and I can only carry you so far – "

"No, Casey. If I do this, I don't want Sarah to know. Things have been confusing enough between us lately, and I don't want her trying to talk me out of this. She would just freak out, and then make things more confusing for me. If I have any hope for surviving this, I need to become an agent and learn how to deal with this whole cover-relationship thing properly, cause right now it's killing me, man."

Chuck took another drink from his tumbler as he looked into Casey's thoughtful eyes.

"You know kid, I give you a lot of crap, but part of that is because you have taken one of the hardest agents I have ever heard of and flipped her on her head. I still think you should tell her, but that's your choice. For what it's worth, I think you're making the right choice in becoming an agent, I think this will help the both of you start acting like adults and maybe put an end to amateur-hour around here."

"Thanks Casey, you sure know how to give a pep-talk." Chuck smiled as Casey gave another grunt - #6, you're stating the obvious.


	2. Chapter 2 Sarah vs The Dumpster

**A/N: Got this update out much quicker than I expected. Partly due to the fantastic reviews, you guys rock! But also because the standby I was supposed to work on the ambulance today got cancelled, so I now have a rare day off. Gonna try and get a few more chapters written, but don't expect more updates till next week, a several-chapter cushion would be nice.**

 **Unfortunately I still do not own Chuck, but I do own a pretty nifty Indiana-Jones Monopoly game, if anyone is interested.**

Chapter 2

Sarah vs. The Dumpster

"You sure about this kid? You're diving in head first here, this training is not easy."

Casey was looking at Chuck in his living room as he reviewed a file with the red-bordered, Top-Secret heading that detailed his coming training.

"I'm sure, Casey. I need to do this, and this is the best way to keep it secret from Sar-my family." Chuck cringed as he had almost said Sarah's name, but one look at his handler showed that he wasn't fooling him a bit.

"Look Chuck, I'm not trying to talk you out of this, but there is something you need to know. Sit down."

Chuck was curious. He had grown much closer with the bear of a man that was John Casey over the past few weeks, but their heart-to-hearts were still few and far between. He pulled out a chair at the small table while Casey brought over the now-traditional 'Casey and Chuck conversation' beverage, _Johnnie Walker – Black Label_ this time.

Casey sat at the table and poured four fingers in the glass rather than the usual two.

 _Uh-oh,_ Chuck thought. _Things are about to get deep, that's a lot of whiskey._

Casey swirled his glass and took a slow sniff, smiling appreciatively at the amber spirits.

"Have you ever heard of a red test?" Casey asked suddenly.

"Is that some kind of Communist Quiz you use Casey? Have you used that on me?"

"Don't be a moron, moron, this is serious. A red test as in the final test before a spy can be sent out into the field." Casey's growl softened as his eyes became un-focused, seeing something far away.

"A red test is how the powers-that-be find out if an operative is going to able to kill. It…it haunts you for the rest of your life. I was a Marine before I 'died' and joined the NSA. Theoretically I could have skipped my red test, I had already killed multiple times before joining the NSA, but those were all armed combatants…I elected to not skip my red test. Even though I had killed, I don't take any special passes, I don't do anything half-way. So I received my orders. 2300 hours on July 27th 1989, report to an abandoned house in a small Chicago suburb. There I would all the surveillance equipment I needed to stalk my target. My objective? Wait until the target was alone, and kill him. He had been trading secrets with North Korea, and it was unknown how he was receiving the secrets. It was too dangerous to keep him alive and leave the pipeline open."

Casey paused as he drained his glass and poured another. Chuck nursed his in turn, chilled to the bone as he listened to the most he has ever heard Casey speak.

"It was dark, rainy, and cold for a summer night. I sat in the house all night, reviewing the surveillance and reading up on my target. After three days in that dark, empty house, I learned that he walks his dog every single night at exactly 22:45. Every night, at 22:47, he would pass the same man walking _his_ dog and they would always stop to shake hands and point to their favorite articles from the sports sections. This was where he made the drop. I called it in and told my superiors I found the next step in the chain, but they weren't interested. They told me to proceed as planned.

"So July 31st, I waited outside his house…the door closed and I pulled him down into the bushes with me, slicing his throat with my KA-Bar from my Marine days. I watched the life drain from his eyes and then I heard the door open. His son and daughter – oldest couldn't have been a day over 6 – came outside and saw me. I will never, _ever_ , forget their faces. The terror, the misery and despair in their eyes. A part of me died along with that man that night, a part of my humanity was lost."

Casey stopped talking as he drained another glass, his eyes for the first time in Chuck's memory, actually glistened with a tear.

Chuck drained his own glass and Casey refilled it. He had obviously known that his handlers had killed people, but he never imagined how brutal and how personal the job could make it. He had no doubt in his mind that he could kill in defense of himself, his team or – God Forbid – his family. But killing in cold blood was another thing entirely.

"How do you do it Casey? How did you deal with that or any of the cold-blood killing?"

Casey paused to think. Chuck couldn't know that, for a moment, Casey had returned to being Alex Coburn and all the emotions he once had.

"I think about the things that are bigger than myself. I had a family as well, and the only way I get through it is by trusting my bosses and my Intel, and knowing that what I'm doing is a small part of keeping them safe. We don't get everything right, every time, but we do our best. And every life I take is taken with the hope that one more family will never have to experience the pain that I have experienced."

Chuck was thoughtful as he considered Casey's words. He still wasn't sure if he could kill in cold blood, but what Casey said made sense. Then his thoughts strayed to Ellie and Devon and of course, Sarah. His resolve hardened. He knew he could do it, he could bare that pain if it meant just one more day of happiness for any of his family.

"It won't be easy and I guess I won't know until I get there…but I have to try Casey. Sarah once told me that some people want to be heroes and some people have to be asked. Well, I don't want to be hero, but I'm not a moron contrary to popular belief. I know when I'm being called on and when I need to step up. I'm going to do this Casey – I have to."

Casey smiled a sad smile. "Well, if you understand what you're getting into…Welcome to the CIA kid. You all set with the plan for getting you extracted to your training?"

"Yea. I'm going to 'find the bug' in the Buymore, and Beckman is going to order I be extracted to a bunker – this bunker apparently being Camp Peary A.K.A. The Farm. Guess it was convenient timing that we noticed the surveillance from the Pita/Fulcrum girl, huh? Do me a favor while I'm gone?"

Casey nodded.

"Take care of my family. I spoke to Beckman yesterday; you guys are still going to be stationed here for when I get back. I made it clear to her that I am only as effective as my team. Hope you like Burbank, buddy."

Casey choked on his scotch. "What? She hasn't told me that!"

"Well she will soon. You guys are joining me towards the end for some team training. I suggest you let Sarah find out when you touch down on the runway of Camp Peary…unless you wanna take the brunt of her anger for me."

Casey grunted - #8, fat chance. "That's all you kid…I think I actually have to recertify on a few things while I'm there…should take me the first few hours after I drop Walker off to you."

Casey smiled wickedly as the color drained from Chuck's face.

"Checkmate," Casey said before cringing. "Ugh, nerd references."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Sarah Walker was never one to drive slowly. After all, speed limits were more of a suggestion, and one that became even less meaningful the day she received her CIA badge. However, even for her this had to be a new record – 110 in a residential neighborhood… _Nicely done, Sarah._

Sarah paused at the particular thought. Even though she had been Sarah Walker for 5 years now, she had never once referred to herself as that name in her own private thoughts. In her head she always remembered herself as Sammie, a name from happier times. She didn't have to think long to figure out what changed that thought process.

It was all because of that absolute _bastard_ Chuck Bartowski. Sarah cringed as she mentally berated herself. No matter how mad she was at the man, she couldn't call him names, not even internally. _Not the man I lo-…Hell, I can't even say my feelings in my own damn head._

This man wormed her way into her heart, the first man ever to do so since she became disillusioned with her father. She still loved her father, but after realizing what he did to her mother – what he did to her…while she loved her childhood and loved her dad, that's no way to raise a daughter. Sarah vowed right then that her children would never have the same kind of future.

 _Kids? When did that happen?_ The answer to that was the same as the answer to most of her questions lately: Chuck.

She knew she had fallen for him…knew that she was already hopelessly compromised. She knew the reason she now, finally, thought of herself as Sarah and not Sam – she was Sarah when she met Chuck, and that's who she always would be from now on.

 _None of this is going to matter if I don't hurry the hell up!_ She internally berated herself as she punched the accelerated further to the floor.

Sarah still couldn't believe that her partner John Casey actually had her going after Chuck instead of letting the CIA take him to a bunker. That was very…unlike him. _Looks like mine isn't the only heart my man has wormed his way into._ Sarah mused with a smirk.

She finally closed in on his homing signal, a five story helipad. She raced up the stairs with fire in her eyes, ready to knock down walls if she had to.

"Longshore!" Sarah yelled as she made it to the roof. _Five stories in less than a minute…not bad Walker._ She paused as she thought that…not the time for self-appreciation, not when _her_ Chuck was so close to being taken from her.

Longshore reached for his gun but paused as he recognized Graham's Wildcard entering the roof. _What the hell is she doing?_

"Is there a problem, Agent Walker?"

"Sarah-thank-God-you're-here, listen," Chuck said in a rush. "I don't wanna go yet, I can't."

"Agent Casey is tracking the fulcrum mole and he should have her in custody soon so we can hold off on the – Chuck transfer – for the time being."

"If there was a change in the operation I would have been contacted. I have my orders."

"We don't have to do this, this is a judgement call, ok, we can just hold Chuck here until we know for sure." _Dammit Longshore, you're a good agent, don't make me shoot you._

"His cover was blown…he's gone."

"No! I will take full responsibility. Chuck is my asset…he's my _guy._ "

Chuck swallowed at that. _I'm her guy? Well, just one more reason I need to go do this, more mixed signals to deal with._

"Just…just give us more time please."

Chuck spoke for the first time since Sarah got on the roof. "I'd appreciate it…I really would."

"Please don't do this." Sarah tightened her grip around her S&W 5906. _Wouldn't be the first time I've shot someone I didn't want to with this thing…all for Chuck._

"Ok, you got one minute…" He held up his finger for emphasis. "One minute."

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to Chuck.

 _Time to sell it,_ Chuck thought.

"I'm not ready Sarah; I'm not ready to disappear."

"No, I know…I know that."

"I need you to talk to Ellie, and to Morgan and my friends…an-an-and tell them…that I'm, I don't know…look if I'm supposed to be dead, just say something that will make it ok…that will make them feel alright. Just make sure they know how much I love them." _And how much I love you,_ the pair simultaneously thought – Chuck wishing he could say it and Sarah wishing he would.

"You can do that right?" Sarah nodded, tears in her eyes. _Real tears, what are you doing to me Chuck Bartowski?_ "Of course you can, you're Sarah, you can do anything. And hey, there's a silver lining to this too, you know? Cause we're not working together anymore, which means…we can go on a date! You can come by my cell and we can hang out, and you can tell me who the president is."

Sarah couldn't help but laugh a watery chuckle…he could make a mime laugh during the apocalypse, she knew he could.

"And maybe, uh…" Chuck paused as he grabbed her soft, yet strong hands. Sarah's breath caught as she looked into his dreamy eyes, pure electricity passing between their hands and their eyes. She had never felt that before at anyone's touch, certainly not with Bryce.

"Maybe we can say how we really feel." Chuck finished.

Sarah swallowed, getting ready to speak, trying to convince herself to say the words that she hasn't even been able to say in her head yet, but that she knew were true. She had never felt the passion and feelings and _oh screw it,_ she thought, _the love,_ that she felt for Chuck Bartowski.

Her courage slowly began to bubble to the surface as the sound of helicopter blades suddenly broke through the air. _No,_ she thought. _I'm not ready!_

"Time's up." Longshore shouted.

Chuck's head whipped around. _Damn,_ he thought. He knew he wasn't really going to a bunker, but they were finally starting to connect for once, he could see it in her eyes. No covers, no lies…just Chuck and Sarah.

"Goodbye, Sarah." Chuck said as Sarah sniffed back tears. _Well, that was a losing battle,_ she thought as a single tear cascaded down her cheek.

"Chuck," Sarah rasped. Chuck turned to look at mournful beauty that was the love of his life.

"Save you later?" She said with a sad smile. Chuck nodded as the helicopter landed – a large Blackhawk military bird. _Well, I've always wanted to ride one of these when I_ wasn't _forced to fly it._

Chuck boarded the aircraft and strapped himself in as the crew chief closed the door.

"Welcome Agents Carmichael, Longshore. We've got a brief flight to Edwards Air Force Base and from there you'll hop a private jet to Camp Peary. Let me know if you need anything, but before you ask no, we do not have in-flight peanuts."

Chuck stifled a laugh as he looked out the window to Sarah's gorgeous face. As the helicopter lifted off, his guts turned to ice.

"Watch out, Sarah!" Chuck yelled as the pita girl opened fire on her from behind.

The helicopter took evasive action, and Chuck could only watch in horror as the mop of golden-blonde hair got smaller and smaller.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Sarah dove to the side as she saw Chuck's eyes widen inside the helicopter and knew it could only mean one thing. She whispered a thank-you to her nerd as bullet holes appeared where she had been standing moments earlier.

Sarah rolled as she pulled out her S&W and opened fire on the slutty pita girl who reminded her oddly of her high school nemesis, Heather Chandler. She emptied her first mag as she made it to the edge of the roof and dropped to the roof below.

"Do you know how many people have been looking for Bryce Larkin? And the intersect has been here in Burbank the whole time…Where are they taking him blondie? And who's this beautiful ring for?" The pita girl held up her hand, revealing Devon's grandmother's ring that chuck had been freaking out about before she fired a few more times at Sarah's cover.

"Go to hell!" She yelled. Sarah rolled to the side and made a run for the stairs. The pita girl followed her and beat her to it, but Sarah dropped her body and made a running tackle, hitting her around the midriff and sending her to the ground. The pita girl punched her in the face, and made another swing towards her stomach as Sarah caught the arm, and twisted her around on her stomach. She punched her once, twice, three times in the head as the pita girl slumped, dazed.

The pita girl kicked at Sarah, and she flew backwards, falling back into a fighting stance as the pita girl regained her feet and then charged at Sarah. The two went sailing off the roof right as John Casey made it up to witness this.

"Walker, no!" Casey ran to the edge, hoping against hope that she would be hanging onto the edge like a movie. He was just beginning to like this damn CIA agent, he didn't have enough time to break in a new partner and Chuck would kill him if he let anything happen to her.

As he looked over the edge he saw no hands holding on for dear life, but instead saw something just as impossible – Walker slamming the pita girl's head into the side of the dumpster that they landed in. Casey shook his head at the spectacle – something that before this he thought only ever happened on TV. After all, falling five stories and landing perfectly in a dumpster is not exactly a skill they teach at The Farm.

Casey made it down to ground level and walked over to the dumpster.

"Walker, you gonna come out sometime today or you trying to find some new food to serve up at that damn hot-dog stand?"

"Casey, the ring is missing!" Sarah yelled back.

"What? The hell are you talking about, Walker?"

"The ring, Devon's Grandmother's ring that Chuck was holding for Devon. The pita girl stole it, and was wearing it but now it isn't on her finger."

 _Ugh, I hate this damn assignment._ Casey climbed up the side of the dumpster and jumped in.

"Casey, they just took him away for who knows how long, he may never see his family again. The least I can do is find this ring for them so his sister can have some happiness in all this. Did you guys have a cover worked out yet?"

Casey scowled as he started digging through the trash too. _Damn that nerd and his infectious lady feelings._

"The story is he was arrested for the Buymore theft. Due to the high amount of merchandise stolen and the 'several dead bodies found at the dump site,' he was moved to secure holding at a venue where no one will know him."

Sarah paused as she was holding a pair of disgusting boxer shorts with gold reflective rings on it – which she mistook for the shiny ring band.

"Arrested? Not dead? So he's coming back?" Sarah couldn't help but smile despite the disgusting situation at the revelation that Chuck wouldn't be underground forever.

"No Walker, not dead. And like it or not…we're not going anywhere. Intersect project isn't over, we're just on hiatus."

Sarah stopped dead, luckily with no thrown-away clothing in her hands this time.

"What do you mean hiatus? Did you talk to Beckman and Graham already? Hang on…you couldn't have…you guys planned this!"

Casey stopped and cringed as he knew what was coming. Despite his excellent reflexes, the knee deep garbage that he was in prevented him from blocking the incoming attack from Walker at his back. Before he knew it, he was pinned against the wall of the dumpster - disgusting, unknown fluids soaking through his shirt as Walker held a knife to his throat.

"What is going on Casey, you tell me right here, or I add some blood to this smorgasbord of bodily fluids."

"Walker, take it easy, don't forget I'm your partner."

"Partners are honest with each other, Casey." Sarah had deadly fire in her eyes.

"I'm not the one lying to you Walker," Casey said before he could stop himself. Sarah's eyes grew wide and she pressed the knife harder against his throat, drawing minute beads of blood along his neck.

"What did he do, Casey? Where is he going?" Sudden realization dawned on Sarah as she remembered where she knew Longshore from. _Agent Longshore, CIA instructor._

"He's going to Camp Peary isn't he? That _idiot_! I will kill him myself. Get up Casey; we're on the next flight out."

 _Shit, I did not think this one through._ Sarah turned from him and bent down as she saw a glint of gold. She picked up the fallen ring and smiled.

"Ok, maybe the next flight after that. We have one stop to make first."

Casey growled as he got up out of the garbage, grumbling something about where a certain engagement ring could be stored for 'safe keeping.'


	3. Chapter 3 Chuck vs The Farm

**A/N: Well, been a slow week so I'm making pretty good progress. If I can do updates twice a week I will definitely try and do that, but definitely going to do my best for once a week at minimum. The reviews and support have been awesome, thanks so much everyone! In response to some questions/reviews, I would love to do a episode-by-episode rewrite but I don't have time for that and I think it may be boring honestly. Just assume if it isn't covered in here it either happened mostly the same as it did in the show, or there just wasn't a very significant change. There will be some moments of the show rewritten into the story, but they will be very significant moments. Other than that the majority of the material will be original.**

 **Again, thanks so much for the support! Usual disclaimers: I do not own Call of Duty, Gulfstream, or any of the brands referenced in this story. Most important and depressing of all, I do not own Chuck. If I did, I would be writing my plan to befriend and then woo Y'vonne Strahovski and not this awesome story. But I digress.**

Chapter 3

Chuck vs. the Farm

Sarah looked out the window as the Gulfstream touched down in D.C. Casey was sitting in the row behind her, reading a Ronald Reagan biography. She tried to calm her thoughts but it was really no use. Ever since she watched Chuck lift off in the helicopter, her whole world had been a mess. She contacted Director Graham after returning the engagement ring to Captain Awesome and explaining that Chuck was caught up in a misunderstanding and she was going to help sort it out. Graham instructed her to report to D.C. immediately, and as much as it appealed to her to go straight to Camp Peary and kick Chuck's sorry ass, she didn't dare refuse a direct order.

When she calmed her seething thoughts, she could admit that she wasn't mad at Chuck for doing what he did. In fact, she was proud – _very proud_ – of her nerd for making that decision. But that didn't stop her from being worried about him, or from being pissed that he lied to her. Chuck, the one who always wanted to talk about, well, _anything,_ for once did not talk to her.

"I know that look Walker. It was his choice to make, and he made it like a man. You should be proud of the crazy-haired moron."

"I am proud Casey…but he didn't even ask my opinion. Does he know what he's getting into?"

"Believe me Walker, he knows. We spent several nights going over everything…I even told him about my red test. He knows what to expect. Despite my beloved name for the geek, he's not a moron. He knows what he's doing and honestly, I'm just glad he's on our side."

Sarah couldn't believe what she just heard Casey say. She knew Chuck had gotten to him too, but she didn't know how much – that he was as far gone as she was.

"Nerd, Casey, not geek. But Casey, I…Thanks. I know I'm acting a little foolishly but he…"

"But he is more to you than just an Asset or a partner or even a friend. I get it Walker."

Sarah's eyes widen momentarily before her agent mask slipped back in place.

"Casey, I don't know what you think but I'm not compromised. He's my Asset and that is it."

"You can lie all you want but it ain't fooling anyone. I'm not reporting you Walker…kid is worth being compromised for, he's got a good heart and he's a good man. As far as I've seen – from both of us – all it has done is make us a more effective team."

Sarah was truly speechless for the first time in her life. Well, the first time that the conversation was with someone other than Chuck. She had no idea how to respond so she did the only thing she trusted herself to do and simply nodded.

"Don't take advantage of it Walker, the first time I find you dipping your chocolate in Bartowski's peanut butter on company time, I shoot you both."

 _There's the Casey we all know and love._

The two spies walked into the main entrance of the NSA headquarters at Fort Meade in Maryland for their meeting with General Beckman and Director Graham. They cleared security and after having their firearms returned to them they proceeded through the labyrinth of hallways to the General's office. They made it to her waiting room and checked in with her secretary. The two were waved into the office and they found Beckman sitting at her desk with Graham standing behind her.

Casey grunted, "Hmm, thought maybe we'd switch it up for once, have Graham sitting or maybe juggling. You know, something up to the CIA's standards."

"Good to see you too, Major Casey." Beckman replied. Casey responded by snapping to attention and throwing a crisp salute.

"Only joking, Director Graham. Can't pass up an opportunity to heckle the CIA's top dog."

Graham frowned at the Major, but appeared to ignore the comment as he began speaking.

"The reason you are both in D.C. is to oversee the training of the Intersect. Bartowski has made it clear that he is only as effective as his team, and while this training should help improve that notion I would rather not ruin a good thing. You will both spend the next few months here in D.C. and you will plan the final phases of training for Bartowski. For now, you will have no contact whatsoever with him, he needs to do the initial training on his own. Take this time to put any of your affairs in order that you need to, when his training is done you will be stationed in Burbank for the foreseeable future."

Sarah couldn't believe what she was hearing. There was a time in her life when she couldn't imagine another week stuck in the Los Angeles suburb but now…now she can't picture her life away from it – away from Chuck.

"If there's nothing else, you are dismissed, Major Casey. Agent Walker, a word?" Beckman asked.

Casey stood and saluted once more before heading out the door. Sarah stared at the nameplate on the General's desk, knowing this probably wasn't going to be a particularly fun conversation.

"Agent Walker, we need to talk about your relationship with the Intersect. We've decided that meeting it head on is a better approach than a traditional 49B. The Intersect clearly has strong feelings for you and I can't say that I have exactly seen the opposite from you. So the question remains, can you effectively work with the Intersect despite being compromised?"

The fact that Beckman did not _ask_ if she was compromised but merely stated it as fact was not lost on Sarah. Sarah hesitated – not because she did not know the answer, on the contrary, her feelings for Chuck only made her more determined to protect him. She hesitated because she wasn't sure how much she could trust Beckman. Tell the truth and Beckman could reassign her so fast her head would spin. Lie and risk the General seeing through the lie and she meets the same scenario. In the end, Sarah decided on the truth – or a version of it.

"Ma'am, if you're asking if I have feelings for the Intersect then the answer is yes. Chuck is a great guy and a true patriot – an American hero. That being said, I feel that these feelings have been nothing but a benefit to this team. While our methods may be unorthodox and our missions aren't always smooth, we have yet to fail. So the answer is yes, General. I can and will continue to work with Chuck and with Major Casey to bring down Fulcrum."

"Walker, you can spare the speech. That last sentence is all I wanted. When this training is over, the Intersect – Chuck – will be an agent, and your personal lives will remain just that: Personal. Off the record, you were never fooling anyone, Sarah. Good for you. You're dismissed."

Sarah stood up and left the office with her head spinning. As she closed the door she couldn't help but let the smile form on her face. Despite the fact that she was still furious with Chuck…she had essentially just been given permission to finally pursue the man she has come to love. With that happy thought, Sarah decided it was time to plan some payback on Chuck.

"This is going to be fun." She said to herself.

\\\\\

 _4 months later_

Chuck was sleeping peacefully in his bed, as the moonlight sprawled across his bare skin. After months at The Farm, there were scratches and bruises all over his body. The training so far had been brutal, but he couldn't deny that he was having fun.

Chuck had never been much of an athlete, but he did enjoy running. From the day he arrived, they had done almost nothing but run, plus added in weight building, covert movements, weapons training, mixed martial arts, and even a little gymnastics of all things. At the end of the second week, he had already begun to feel his muscles tightening and his coordination was becoming much more defined. Now months later, his muscles had become extremely toned and he had to stop his jaw from dropping every time he looked in the mirror and tried to figure out whose body his head was on. He never thought he'd enjoy working out, or shooting for that matter, but he was really beginning to see what Casey meant about these activities being therapeutic.

Chuck had become very good at shooting…despite not liking guns before his training, he was really beginning to love it. His aim was phenomenal and he could not wait to have a shooting competition with Casey. Shooting was easily one of his top skills, second only to one category: counter surveillance and evasion. Chuck excelled very well at this, even without using the Intersect to flash on the agents tailing him.

After one week of lessons on the topic, Chuck was able to lose himself in a crowd so well that he was able to disappear for several hours and send messages and gifts to all his family – Flowers and a new set of throwing knives to Sarah, a new tactical weapon light to Casey (with infrared settings, of course), the new Call of Duty to Morgan, a brand new stethoscope to Ellie, and a new blender to Devon (with carbide blades for cutting through all of his vegetables in his smoothies). Chuck was particularly proud that he paid for all this using a credit card he had stolen after flashing on the 'victim' as a violent Mexican drug runner. Chuck also made a quick phone call to Ellie saying that he had been 'released from jail' with all charges dropped thanks to Sarah. He told her he'd explain everything when they got home, but for now they were taking a vacation and spending time with Sarah's family. He spent a few hours trying to track down Sarah and Casey and was surprised when the Government's records pointed to the pair being in D.C. After a little more digging and some covert surveillance, Chuck was pretty certain he'd caught a glimpse some golden hair atop of a certain leggy blonde when his phone rang and his instructors ordered him back to The Farm.

Chuck smiled at that particular memory. He really had come a long way in the last few months. Some days he even felt like he was born to do this. Now all he could do was hope that when he finally was reunited with Sarah that she would only slightly maim him rather than viciously murder him.

Despite having quite a bit of fun during training, he had noticed a definite change lately. The training missions became much more complicated and despite his best efforts he never seemed to win. He always accomplished his mission – he had yet to fail. But for the past two weeks, every scenario ended with either him 'dying' after completing his mission or someone on his team dying. It's almost as if someone were trying to make a point…almost as if someone were deliberately trying to piss him off.

Chuck opened his eyes and glanced down at his watch. 0356. _4 more minutes until today's batch of fun activities._ Chuck thought back to the day before at this time. At 0400 on the dot, the door slammed open.

" _Gas, gas, gas! Get up you little puke!_ " His instructors began screaming as they came in the room. Chuck dove out of his bed, the only occupied cot in the structure. Chuck scrambled to the bathroom while holding his breath. He turned on the shower and hopped in, scrubbing his entire body with his breath still held before stumbling out 42 seconds later. Chuck dried his hair, and stumbled out of the shower, pulling his issued gas mask down over his face. Chuck jogged back to his bed stood at attention.

"Not bad recruit, two minutes, eleven seconds." His instructor paused as he looked at the bed. "What is this disgusting disgrace for a bunk? Get this cleaned up right _now_ dammit!" Chuck made the bed the way they taught him and then stood back at attention. That is how he had been woken every day since arriving at Camp Peary, the mythical 'farm' where the CIA trains its agents. _Pretty misleading,_ Chuck thought, _if anything this is more of a forest, not a farm._

Chuck looked at his watch again. 0401. _Hmm…They're late today._ The door creaked open and Chuck prepared to move. However, the door just closed and he didn't hear anything else. _Strange._

Chuck heard movement in the barracks, but he couldn't pinpoint where it was at. He called on all of his training and stayed still, slowing his breathing as he assessed the situation without moving.

Without warning, a soft, warm hand covered his mouth and he was dragged from his bed. He began to squirm until he caught some flowery scent that was all too familiar – _Sarah?_ Chuck went stark still as he could see her fierce, glowing eyes through the darkness. She dragged him to his feet and slammed him against the wall. Chuck did not want to fight her, but he had no choice but to respond as her fist was sailing through the air from the right towards his face. Chuck attempted to block the blow and realized too late that it was a feint – Sarah jammed her knee into his right side. Chuck tensed up his abdomen to absorb the blow and pretended to double over.

Sarah took the bait as she relaxed her grip and Chuck grabbed her arm, swinging her to the bed. Sarah jumped on top of it and used the momentum to swing Chuck around with her. Chuck let go of Sarah's arm and jumped over the bed, rolling on the floor and pushing the other beds out of the way. Before he could react, Sarah was in front of him again and she punched him in the rib cage on the right this time.

Chuck struggled to breathe as the wind was knocked out of him, but he knew he was lucky. He had seen Sarah in action multiple times and knew she could take down a guy with a single punch. _She's taking it easy on me,_ Chuck thought. _Well, that's her mistake I guess._ Chuck lunched himself at her, using a combination of his three favorite fighting styles – Krav Maga, Sambo, and (in tribute to John Casey) U.S. Marine Corps Martial Arts. Sarah was taken aback as she began to really fight for the first time.

The two were a serious match and were soon exhausted, with sweat dripping down both of their bodies. Despite the fatigue, Chuck could not help but notice the way Sarah's skin glistened in the moonlight, so soft and smooth – _OW!_ That distraction cost him a pretty wicked right hook to the face. The two danced around each other, the perfect match. Sarah punched and Chuck dodged; Chuck kicked and Sarah blocked. Neither was gaining any ground until Chuck made one last mistake. Chuck attempted to get behind Sarah and put her in a head lock, and as his body rubbed sensually against hers, she grabbed him by the arm and spun him around, knocking him to the floor.

She pinned him to the ground and then straddled him, her hair tickling his face.

"Hello Chuck," She said, her eyes seething with anger.

"H-Hey Sarah," Chuck started as Sarah relaxed her grip. "I'll bet you're not too happy to see me, huh? You look great though…"

"Shut up! Don't think you're getting off the hook with a few nice words. Chuck Bartowski, what in the _hell_ were you thinking? And more importantly, in what universe does it seem like it's a good idea to not talk to _me_ , of all people about this? For God's sake, you went to Casey – _Casey_ – before you came to me. And technically you still haven't even come to me."

Chuck shifted uncomfortably. It had nothing to do with Sarah being heavy or him disliking her being on top of him in any way. On the contrary, his body was responding to her being on top of him in ways that began to turn his cheeks red. Sarah noticed both the movements and his response to her being on top of him and she just squeezed her knees together tighter.

"Chuck, you have more important things to worry about right now, like giving me this damn explanation that I am just dying to hear."

"Sarah…you know why I couldn't tell you. You'd just try and talk me out of it."

"Damn right I would have Chuck! You think I want you living this life? You think I want you lying to everyone, denying yourself the happiness that you deserve?"

Chuck bristled. "Since when do you care about my happiness? At every turn since I've met you, all you've done is flatten my hopes of happiness."

Sarah bristled. "How _dare_ you Chuck? You really think that's what I was doing? You really think you're the only one unhappy with the situation we're in? You are too good of a guy to be stuck with a fake girlfriend, you deserve better than that…you deserve better than me. You deserve to have a real relationship and one day you will and…and you'll forget all about me."

With that, Sarah slid off of his lap and sat on the ground with her back against the bed. Chuck sat up next to her.

"Sarah, we both know that isn't true. There is no single possibility on this earth that I could ever forget you."

Sarah looked up at Chuck, a single tear sliding down her cheek. Chuck leaned over and bumped his shoulder into hers.

"Look Sarah, all I've ever wanted from the day I met you was to be with you. But I just couldn't do it anymore. You may be able to deal with the fake relationship and turning off your emotions but I can't. If that's all we can have then I need to be trained on how to deal with it too. And hey…when all this is over, I'll be a real agent. So maybe…maybe it won't even matter anymore, and we can at least be open and honest with each other." Chuck paused as he planned his next words carefully.

"The only reason I didn't tell you is because I need to do this. More than that, I want to do this. I finally know what I want to be when I grow up, and no, it's not a 'big boy' anymore. And it definitely isn't a guy laying low at a Buymore. I want to be a spy, and I want to work with you and with Casey. I want to help people and make a difference and I'm actually _good_ at this, and not because of the Intersect."

"Chuck, I respect what it is you're trying to do, but did you think this through? Have you ever even heard of a red test?"

Chuck couldn't help but laugh lightly. Sarah gave him a dirty look.

"Sorry Sarah, you just sound exactly like Casey. He asked me the same thing…and told me about his. I'm not saying I'm thrilled about the idea, but I'm willing to take it on. You guys risk your lives all the time to serve the Country. I shouldn't be doing any less. You once asked if I was ready to be the hero…well, I don't want to be a hero, but I am ready to do my part."

Sarah obviously knew he had already talked about the red test with Casey, but she needed to hear it firsthand. She swallowed hard as she regarded the remarkable man before her. He never ceased to amaze her. She couldn't be mad at him…not after that answer. He clearly thought hard about this decision and as much as she hated to admit it, he was right. If he told her before he left, she may have stopped him.

"Chuck, if you're going to do this, I need to tell you the story of my red test; you need to understand what is coming. It was…the worst day of my life. You think I can kill so easily, well, it isn't as simple as it seems. You won't be the same after your red test…I know I wasn't. I remember everything. I was wearing a black turtleneck and a black leather jacket…kind of screamed assassin in retrospect. My hair was long, curly and I was wearing it down…an attempt to battle the cool Paris night. I was given a street name and a time to be there…No name, just a photo.

"And it was all happening the way it was supposed to and then…and then she dropped something like a piece of jewelry and I just couldn't do it. Not with her on the ground like that so I just kept walking. And then in a reflection I saw her reaching for a weapon. Well at least I thought I saw her reaching. So I turned and I shot her. I wanted to go back and check to make sure but there was, um, no time. It was the worst day of my life."

Chuck reached down and put his hand on Sarah's, interlacing their fingers as he gave her a tight squeeze.

"Sarah, I'm so sorry. I hear what you're saying, I do, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't dreading my test. But this is our job. I may not have picked it, but now that it's found me I'm not running away from it. Don't you see? I'm doing this to help people, to keep people safe. I'm doing this for you. So I can help keep you be safe, and so I can watch your back too."

Sarah smiled a sad, watery smile. "I know Chuck. Truth is I've been half-expecting you to do something like this from the day you received the Intersect. I've gotten to know you, Chuck, and I may not be happy about it but…I respect what you're trying to do."

Sarah suddenly turned, her eyes dancing with fire again.

"In the future though, you come to me before you make any decisions like this. We don't keep anything from each other, not anymore. And when the time comes for your red test, just remember…don't lose that guy I fel*cough*followed here from Burbank, just to do this job. Don't give up on the things that make you great."

 _Smooth Walker; just blurt everything out why don't you._

Chuck froze. He knew what he thought he heard, but…no, it couldn't be. _You're hearing things Bartowski, just because you want to hear them._ Chuck turned to look at Sarah, and was shocked to see the look in her eyes. He couldn't quite define it, but it was certainly the most vulnerable that he had ever seen her.

The door opened again and Casey walked in, grunting at the site of them on the floor.

"If you two are done making a mess of the barracks of real, hard-working American soldiers…Walker, we're out of here. Beckman is going to brief us in the air. Chuck, good luck kid, don't screw up."

"Thanks Casey…can you give us a minute?" Chuck asked.

Casey began grumbling about lady feelings as he closed the door and walked away.

Chuck gave Sarah his hand and helped her off the ground. He grasped her other hand as she made it to her feet and looked into her eyes.

"Look Sarah, I don't want to make it awkward, and I don't want to give you the wrong idea about why I'm doing this training but…maybe, when I get back…Do you wanna go on a date sometime? I mean a date without aliases, and spy gear and a mission."

"Like a real date?"

"Yea."

"Chuck…when this is over I'll still be a CIA agent and you will be one then too. There are a hundred reasons why we shouldn't do that…but I think we've both had enough of even one of those reasons, so…Ok."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

Chuck just smiled his signature Chuck Bartowski smile.

"But, if you want to do this Chuck, you need to make it through training. You need to focus and realize that just because you decided to become a spy, it isn't going to magically fix things overnight. And if you don't focus then you're just going to keep dying like you have been lately."

"I know Sarah. Don't worry, no matter what happens, I'll always be me…I'll always be Chuck. Just like deep down, you'll always be Sarah...hang on. How do you know I've been dying lately? You…You're the reason! You've been fixing my missions and making them impossible!"

Sarah smiled an adorable smile and shrugged. "You pissed me off…don't do it again, Chuck. By the way, thanks for the gardenias and the knives."

Chuck smiled and brushed Sarah's hair back behind her ear, slowly bringing his hand down against her cheek. He looked into her beautiful blue eyes and leaned in to plant a soft kiss on her cheek. Chuck tried to pull his head back but was surprised to feel Sarah's hand behind his neck, holding him in place. _Hiyo_. He thought, as Sarah pulled his lips against hers. This was different than their kiss on the docks…it was slow, passionate and another emotion he found harder to believe – _loving_? Just like last time, he felt the world stop. There was nothing else but Sarah and Chuck in that moment, and he couldn't be sure just how much time had passed. Far too soon, Sarah broke the kiss and looked him in the eyes one more time.

"You're almost done Chuck, be safe and come back to me soon."

With that, she was gone and Chuck was left standing in the barracks smiling like an idiot.

 _Well, that went better than I had a right to expect,_ Chuck mused before heading to the shower, preparing for the day to come.


	4. Chapter 4 Chuck vs the Red Test

**A/N: Here it is...the infamous Red Test. I know some people would like to see the Red Test not be included in canon and in this story, but I think it's a necessary evil. Hopefully my version of how it would have gone isn't too far-fetched and even if you guys don't like it, I hope it's a good read. This chapter can be a bit of a downer, but there are some interesting, fun and of course fluffy chapters to come. I'm pretty excited for some of the ideas I have, but I couldn't have any of this story without the support from my readers. You guys absolutely rock and your reviews always bring a smile to my face. Thanks for reading and as always, your input, reviews, suggestions and opinions are always welcome and respected :)**

 **Usual disclaimers, I do not own Chuck or any other brands/trademarks/copyrights that may be represented, this is purely for fun and I make no money from this, much to my dismay. The category of things I don't own also extends to the Millennium Falcon and a polar bear, so you can imagine my depression. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Chuck vs. the Red Test

Chuck finished running the length of the hallway and crouched down, pulling a small mirror out of one of the pouches of his tactical vest. He tilted the mirror and looked around the corner and didn't see any enemies.

"Casey, I'm clear. You and Sarah can move up."

Chuck pulled out his sidearm and covered the hallway, slowly sweeping back and forth as he heard the telltale pair of shuffling feet come up behind him – one large but stealthy and one quiet and nimble as a cat. Chuck held up his closed fist telling his partners to hold, followed by two fingers as two black-clad enemy agents walked into his view. He reached behind him and tapped Sarah's shoulder, pointing to a small desk around the corner and then held his fist up again, opening his hand and spreading his fingers wide. _I'll make a distraction, you move to that cover._

Chuck pulled back his sleeve where his cell phone was residing on his wrist using a work-out band – so what if he ripped off the game _Splinter Cell_ , it worked well. Chuck pulled up his self-made hacking app and wirelessly accessed the wall mounted intercom system near the enemy agents. Chuck held up three fingers and slowly put down each one until he held nothing but a fist, tapping the initiate icon on his phone.

Suddenly, _Never Gonna Give You Up_ by Rick Astley began blasting out of the intercom at full volume. Chuck and Casey held position as Sarah rolled behind the desk in the hallway. Chuck used his phone to turn off the music, only to pick it back up at a different intercom down the hallway, past the cover where they were all hiding. As the agents walked past them to investigate, Chuck and Sarah burst from Cover and grabbed the guys from behind, putting them in a sleeper hold until they went limp.

"Really, Chuck? You Rick-Rolled them?" Casey asked.

Chuck's jaw dropped.

"Casey, how do you of all people know what that means?"

Casey just shrugged. "What? You think we don't like _Family Guy_ in the Marine Corps?"

Chuck just shook his head as they hid the bodies in a custodial closet and began moving deeper into the facility. As they turned the fourth corner without encountering more guards, Chuck frowned and looked around.

"Does this feel too easy to you guys?"

Right as Chuck asked this, agents flooded into both ends of the hallway.

"So much for covert – move, go loud!" Casey yelled.

Chuck rolled forward and jumped up in front of the door they were standing near. He stood up and kicked the door in then lifted his rifle and pulled his sidearm, laying down covering fire on both sides of the hallway as Sarah and Casey rolled through the doorway. The three closed the door as best they could with the now-broken door frame. They were in a large room with multiple desks and cubicles, some type of office. Chuck pulled up the map on his phone and saw that they were in the room next to their objective. Chuck smiled and looked at his partners.

"Well Casey, it's your time to shine. West wall."

Casey grunted a #11 – joy – and took off his backpack, pulling out a small block of C4 as Chuck and Sarah pulled several desks in front of the broken door. They grabbed cover as Sarah looked at Chuck.

"Did I ever tell you Kevlar is a good look for you, Sarah? Not quite as good as you look in blue, but still, sight for sore eyes."

Sarah rolled her eyes as she checked her weapons. Casey joined them with his eyes closed.

"Is it safe? Are your clothes still on."

"Eat it, Casey. Do it."

Casey smiled as he pressed the detonator and blew the wall in. They entered the room as alarms began to blare. Inside the found a single safe in the center of the room, and Chuck ran to it. He pulled out his SOG combat knife and removed the cover of the biometric lock. Chuck cut a few wires and hooked them into a cord that was plugged into his phone. He began typing in commands as fast as his fingers could move on the keyboard, using a special configuration that he designed himself, allowing him to type at normal typing speeds with one hand.

"Hurry it up there Moron, in case you haven't noticed those alarms are because of us, it isn't lunch time."

Sarah snapped a dirty look at Casey but said nothing.

"You know Sugar-Bear, not everything can be solved with C4 and gun oil. You stick to your favorites and I'll stick with mine. Though to be fair, you threw a few shots out there, so maybe I should just stick with Sarah for the rest of the day."

Casey growled…literally growled. "I'll bet you'd like that wouldn't you, Moron. If she doesn't end up shooting…" The rest of his grumbling faded away as he walked to the far end of the room.

Sarah crouched down next to Chuck as he worked.

"He may be a little gruff, but he's right, we're running out of time Chuck."

"Well, your wish is my command, Sarah," Chuck said as his phone beeped and he opened the safe. Chuck raised his voice as he looked over to Casey. "You hear that big guy? Just whisper a few sweet nothings in my ear and it works like a charm!"

Sarah swatted his arm harder than was strictly necessary and reached into the safe. They pulled out a small black box and slid it into Sarah's backpack. Chuck was already on the other side of the room tapping into the computer.

"Alright guys, alarms…are…cut," Chuck said as the sirens went silent. Chuck reached into his bag and pulled out two pairs of night vision goggles, tossing them to Sarah and Casey. Chuck pulled on his own set of NVGs as he killed the power to the entire facility, opening all of the locked doors between them and their exit while locking all the other doors in the process. As a final measure, he set lose a virus of his own making that would began siphoning files from their servers into his secure CIA account before resetting the password for the entire facility's mainframe.

Chuck stood up and brought his rifle to his shoulder.

"You guys ready to run?"

Casey and Sarah both smiled.

"Just try to keep up, Chuck," Sarah said as she started running, shouting over her shoulder. "Last one out has to clean everyone's weapons!"

Chuck began high-tailing it, only stopping as he gained a new cover position and covered his partners while they moved up. After taking down eight more enemies, they finally reached the door to the facility and hopped onto the waiting armored ATVs they had staged there earlier. The three took off into the night, leaving the headlights off and using their NVGs to navigate.

"Don't forget Chuck, I prefer Frog-Lube for my Sig, but Rem-Oil for my rifle." Casey said over their comms.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa Casey, I was the second one out, you were the one who wanted to cover our six!"

"Yea, but you made the bet with Walker, not with me. You fell into the trap, and now Walker and I get to go for pizza when we get back. I swear if I get back and one single patch comes out of my rifle dirty, I will put you down on your ass so hard that computer in your brain will pop out through your ears."

"Face it Chuck, even if you were first out, you still would have been cleaning the guns…that's what you get for being the new guy." Sarah said with glee in her voice.

Chuck didn't say anything in response, just gunned his engine and raced Sarah most of the way back to the waiting helicopter. They stopped a half-kilometer away from the landing zone and hid the ATVs under some IR netting, marking the location on his GPS for retrieval. The three boarded the helicopter, sitting on the floor of the Blackhawk with their legs dangling off the side as the pilots dumped power to the engines and the ground appeared to shrink away from them. Chuck sat in the middle with Sarah and Casey on either side of him. Casey held up his fist and Chuck bumped it.

"Good work, kid. You've come a long way."

"Thanks Casey, I couldn't do it without you guys."

Chuck assumed Casey grunted, but he couldn't hear it very well through their comms thanks to the noise of the helicopter. Sarah leaned her shoulder into Chuck before moving back to her original position. She stealthily reached between the two of them where Chuck was resting his hand on the floor of the bird and gripped his hand, interlacing their fingers.

Chuck smiled. At this moment, he knew he'd made the right choice. A mission well done with his two partners who were quickly becoming two of the closest friends he had ever had.

* * *

 _Several hours later_

Chuck, Casey and Sarah sat in Beckman's office, no longer wearing their combat gear but still in their black Army Combat Uniforms. Beckman walked in wearing her usual Class A uniform as she sat at her desk and opened the black box they had retrieved from the facility.

"Mmmm," the General moaned in delight as she pulled out a large bottle of premium scotch and removed the cork, sniffing it appreciatively.

Chuck's eyes grew wide.

"Really, General? Do you have a drinking problem we need to be aware of?"

"Chuck, relax. You needed the right incentive. Now the three of you get to enjoy a glass of this magnificent scotch with me. You got to use your new tranq rifle, Major Casey got to use his C4, and Sarah…well, Sarah made it through another mission without killing you two, so that is a plus I suppose. Now sit, and drink."

The three sat in the chairs around the desk and reached for their glasses when the General offered it to them. Chuck tipped his glass back and smiled at the taste of such high-class liquor. He wasn't exactly a novice drinker thanks to his days at Stanford, but he couldn't really afford the real good stuff working at the Buymore.

"Well team, I'm impressed, and not just with you Chuck. Granted, your training has been remarkable, Bartowski. You've mastered classes here in weeks that have taken some of our agents months to perfect. In fact, I think the only scores that rival yours are that of Agent Walker, here. But before you ask, yes, Walker, you are still beating him in all categories save for electronic surveillance and infiltration. In addition to this, I have to give the entire team credit. Your success rate prior to this training was already commendable but now your performance is nothing short of miraculous. I can honestly say I have rarely seen a team so in-tune with each other both during operations and during down time. Congratulations, team. You have all earned my highest praise."

The team smiled modestly. While they appreciated the praise, they knew they were only as good as each other. Apart, they were exceptional but together, as a team…they were unstoppable. They each took a quiet drink from the glass as Beckman began to brief Sarah and Casey on their return flight to Burbank. Chuck and the other two grew silent at this. Chuck still had not performed his Red Test and so they all knew what was coming.

"Now, Major Casey, Agent Walker, thank you for your help with Bartowski's training. You are dismissed, have a pleasant flight back to Burbank. Chuck, please remain, I would like a word."

Casey and Sarah stood up. Casey clapped Chuck on the shoulder and grumbled a low, "Good luck, kid."

Sarah stood still for a moment before slowly drawing her hand across the back of Chuck's shoulders, joining her partner at the door.

"Walker, Casey…your orders state you are to head to the airport immediately. That being said, and knowing you as I do…you may wait in the anteroom to my office; it is as secure as anywhere. I will be working in my office for another 20 minutes or so when I am done with Bartowski."

Sarah and Casey left the office, shaking their heads in shock at how human the General had seemed to become.

"Chuck, I'm sure you know what is coming but I must warn you…it is slightly more unsettling than you will be expecting – indeed, it is more unsettling than it would be for most agents. Evidence has come to light that Director Graham has been working for Fulcrum. I cannot say for certain, but we believe he has been meeting with a Fulcrum agent at an undisclosed location for the last several months."

Chuck was in shock. Graham, the man who knew all about him – all about his _family_ – was Fulcrum? Chuck fumed, no longer in shock.

"So you want me to kill Langston Graham for my Red Test?"

"The General frowned. No, Mr. Bartowski. While I'm sure it would make us all feel a little safer if you did that, we need to be absolutely certain before we order a hit on the DDO of the CIA. You are going to observe their meeting and record your findings. After that, you will trail Graham's contact and see if you flash on him. If you determine he's Fulcrum, question him if possible, but your ultimate objective is to eliminate him. Graham's reaction to this mission will help us determine where his loyalties lie. Unless you have any questions, you are dismissed, Chuck. You may tell Walker and Casey whatever you deem necessary, but use your discretion. Good luck, Chuck, but be warned. This test is not to be taken lightly…be careful."

The General frowned, looking as grave as she had ever looked. Chuck finished the last of his scotch and stood up.

"Thank you for the drink, General. Goodnight." Chuck walked out of the room and closed the door to find Casey sitting in a chair in the waiting room as Sarah paced back and forth.

Casey looked up as Sarah rushed over to Chuck, taking his hands in hers.

"Did she assign it to you? Are you ok, Chuck?"

Chuck squeezed Sarah's hands. "I don't know Sarah…I'm not sure if I can do this. I'm going to give it my best but I just don't know. I don't think I will know until I finally am in the actual situation. But you may want to sit down; this is not exactly a happy assignment. Graham…may be dirty. Beckman thinks he may be working for Fulcrum."

Sarah went rigid and Casey's eyes went wide. "Chuck me…"

"What proof does she have?" Sarah asked.

"Well, that's part of my mission. Beckman thinks he's been meeting with a Fulcrum agent, so I need to watch the meeting and see if I flash or not. If he is meeting an enemy agent, I am to take him out."

Sarah stared at the floor as her hands balled into fists. How could Graham be dirty? The man who recruited her…well, maybe it wasn't that much of a shock. He recruited her at 17-years-old after all, after locking her father up in jail to push her into it. And he was always kind of a prick. Sarah began to see red, but she stopped her blood lust as she looked at Chuck and considered his current predicament.

"Chuck, listen to me. You are supposed to do this alone, but –"

"But we're going with you kid." Casey cut Sarah off, finishing her sentence.

"What? No! If I'm going to do this, then _I_ have to do it."

Sarah squeezed his hand again. "Chuck, I respect that. I really do, but I'm not sending you in alone."

Casey stood up and nodded along with her statement. Chuck couldn't help but smile at his team.

"Look, if you guys want to come along, then fine. But please, just observe. I need to know…If I can't do this, or if I can. Either way, I need to find out. So please, for once…you both need to stay in the car."

Casey grunted, #16, if you say so. "Fine, Chuck, whatever you say. But before you go, we got you something. I picked it out." Casey said proudly.

"Hey!" Sarah yelled.

"Fine, I picked the make…Walker picked the model."

Sarah handed Chuck a wrapped package and he smiled as he saw the Nintendo-themed wrapping paper. Chuck looked at his handlers – no, partners now – and began to open the gift. A hard black case was revealed beneath the paper, and he opened it up to find one of his favorite pistols from the gun range.

"Custom-made Glock 38 generation four. Shoots forty-five G.A.P. with a threaded barrel for a silencer. Compact model so you can conceal it, double-stacked magazine can hold ten rounds plus one in the chamber. We even got you a pretty nice holster with neoprene backing so it doesn't bother your delicate skin – that was Walker's idea."

Chuck smiled as he held his new gun in his hand. He still preferred non-violent takedowns if possible, but he was no fool – he knew the people he was up against would be out to kill him. Chuck shook Casey's hand and then hugged Sarah.

"Thank you both, this is perfect. I love it, but I'm kind of disappointed you didn't get moron laser etched onto it, Case."

"You're not a moron anymore, moron. Well, ok, you still are to me. But you're an agent now kid, and more than that…you're my partner. So good luck tonight, but like Walker said, we've got your back."

Chuck shook his hand again as he looked at his friend.

"Well, I'll go wait in the Vic, Walker." Casey left and Sarah and Chuck were left alone.

"Look, Chuck. You don't have to do this if you don't want to. If you do this, you can never turn back. There are no do-overs in this life. If you want to walk away…now's the time. And if you want to walk away, I wouldn't blame you and in fact, I'd join you. We can run, together, now, if that's what you want."

Sarah had tears in her eyes as she said this, and Chuck couldn't believe it. Sarah – Agent Sarah Walker of the CIA – just offered to quit the spy life and run away with him, forever. But then he began to think about his family…and all the good that he had done, and could continue to do. Chuck knew, as much as being with Sarah for good appealed to him, he just couldn't run away from the responsibility he now held.

"Sarah…I would love nothing more than to leave with you forever, you have to know how much I would love that. But, you know I can't. Even if I didn't go through this training, and even if you weren't still an Agent, I still have the Intersect in my head. I can't just walk away, not when that means ignoring the responsibility that I have to deal with now. You know I could never live with that. And I don't think you could either."

Sarah smiled through the tears. "Glad to know you haven't changed, Chuck. You're right…we'd be happy, but we would always regret it if we ran. Chuck, just be careful, ok? You do not get to die on me, Bartowski. We have a wedding to go to in a few months, and your sister would kill me if I had to go without you."

Chuck smiled at this. She always knew exactly what to say. Chuck put his hand against Sarah's cheek as he leaned in and kissed her soundly.

"I promise Sarah, no matter what I'll always come back to you."

With that, Chuck attached the holster to his belt – it was indeed a nice one, sitting inside the waist band so he could securely conceal it beneath his clothes. After placing the holster, he screwed the silencer onto his gun before loading the magazine and pulling back the slide, chambering a round. Sarah and Casey were nice enough to load both of the magazines that came with the gun, so he slipped the other mag into his back pocket. Then the two spies left the office holding hands and headed down to Casey's waiting 2004 Crown Victoria, complete with full interior light bar and siren.

"Jeez, Casey, could you be any more conspicuous? What did you do, rob a police station when you touched down?"

"Shut up, Bartowski, and get in. I'll drive you to the meet location."

Chuck got in the car and the three made the drive in silence – that is until Chuck broke the tension with his signature stakeout playlist on his phone.

Casey shook his head and laughed as he kept driving.

* * *

 _3 hours later_

Chuck kicked his leg as his foot fell asleep for the third time in the last hour. The team arrived at the meet location just after sundown – about 9pm this time of year. Beckman's briefing folder stated the meets usually happen around midnight so Chuck was now on high alert. He was laying on the rooftop of a two story motel that was situated next to a park.

He was lying behind the scope of his M14 EBR sniper rifle, but he switched his view to the small spotting scope that he brought with him. This was modified scope on a tripod that also contained a laser range finder and a directional laser microphone. Chuck aimed the scope at the park bench where Graham supposedly had his meetings and ensured that the digital recorder was activated. He consulted his wrist-mounted phone one more time and took a few more weather measurements, writing them down in his notebook as he adjusted the scope on his sniper one final time. The air was fairly cool – D.C. was getting an early blast of fall as August drew to an end, the temperature had dropped and now the wind was picking up.

 _Well, at least it isn't raining,_ Chuck thought right as a flash of lightning illuminated the sky and rain began slowly following from the heavens. _Well that was a dumb thing to think, you know better than that Bartowski._

At least he was dressed well. He was wearing his black ACS pants from earlier and a water-resistant dark sweatshirt. He had a navy blue hat pulled backwards around his head as he looked once again through the spotting scope, this time seeing a lone figure walking through the rain.

The figure was a man, but clearly not Graham. "I've got movement guys. Mid-thirties, white male wearing…you have got to be kidding me. Wearing a black baseball cap and a tan trench coat. Where do these people shop, Abercrombie & Fulcrum?" His quip was met with silence on the radio. "Oh come on guys, that was funny. No flashes yet, I'll keep you posted."

Chuck looked through the scope again but couldn't see the man's face. Suddenly Graham appeared on the other end of the park and began walking over, umbrella in hand. He sat down on the same park bench as the man in the trench coat.

"Alright, Graham is here. I'm patching you guys in to the audio."

"…sucks Graham. I'm moving to Hawaii." Trench coat said with a smile

"But then you wouldn't get to see my smiling face. How is your wife?" Graham frowned as he spoke.

"Oh the same as always, she just keeps finding new craft projects to work on – she always seems to be missing parts though." Trench coat said with a laugh.

Chuck's eyelids began to flutter as a flash overtook him. A Fulcrum codebook flipped before his eyes and he could see the phrase unscramble: _The new Intersect is almost complete, but we are still missing some components_. Chuck came out of the flash and his jaw dropped.

"Well, have her give my cousin a call, she's very crafty and can probably get her whatever she needs to finish it." Graham said.

Chuck flashed again – _contact the asset in research and development, they will get you what you need._

"Thanks, Graham, always a pleasure talking with you. My mother sends her regards, have a great night." Trench Coat said as he shook Graham's hand.

Chuck was beginning to feel a headache coming on from the third flash in a row – _Fulcrum thanks you_. Chuck shook his head to clear his thoughts as he looked back through the scope. Graham was already up and leaving and trench coat sat on the bench, smoking a cigar.

"Guys, I flashed. That conversation was a Fulcrum code, Graham is helping them build their own intersect!"

Static filled his ear piece.

"Guys?" No answer.

Chuck looked back through his scope and saw trench coat get off the bench and start walking through the alley. Chuck stood, grabbing the digital recorder and slipping it in his cargo pocket but leaving the other gear. He ran to the side of the roof, and silently dropped onto a balcony and then again onto a dumpster, making no noise in the heavy rain. Chuck ran to the corner of the motel and watched trench coat walk down an alley. He ran after him and peeked around the corner, but there was no sign of him. Chuck pulled his gun and aimed ahead as he began slowly walking down the alley. He checked every door way he came up to, finding only pad-locked doors – after all, they weren't in the best part of town. As he reached an intersection, he looked right and saw nothing, but as he was switching his aim left he saw an arm coming towards his face.

Chuck dropped and rolled backwards, maintaining his grip on his gun as he popped back on his feet. Chuck punched trench coat as he attempted to adjust to Chuck's new position, and he stumbled backwards a few feet. Chuck was quickly on top of him and he dragged him to the ground, knocking his hat off in the process.

Chuck flashed again, as the man's service record quickly ran through his brain. Burt Stanfield, former Army Ranger listed as KIA in 2003. Facial recognition pegged him entering several airports over the past year but spit the result out as void due to the KIA record. Chuck blinked out of the flash as he held Stanfield at gunpoint.

"So, Mr. Stanfield, how long have you been with Fulcrum?" Chuck asked.

Stanfield's eyes grew wide as he began to stutter. "H-how do you know my name?"

"I asked you first. Where is Fulcrum's Intersect?" Chuck yelled.

The man just smiled a crooked smile. "And why would I tell you? I'll never talk."

Stanfield drove his foot into Chuck's abdomen and knocked him backwards, right as Sarah and Casey rounded the corner. Stanfield fired off a few rounds and they ducked behind cover at the end of the alley. Chuck popped up and kicked the gun out of his hands as he raised his Glock once more.

Stanfield smiled again. "Well, you gonna do it or what?" Chuck's furrowed his brow as he contemplated what he was about to do, but it was a testament to his training that his gun hand was still holding steady. Stanfield cocked his head quizzically to the side.

"Ahhhh….I see. This is your Red Test, isn't it kid? Well, better get to it…or do you not have the balls? You couldn't even kill me on your own, huh? Needed a team to do it?" Stanfield continued to taunt Chuck as Sarah run up from her cover.

"Chuck!"

"Sarah, wait! Give me a minute."

Chuck began to pull his finger back, taking the slack out of the trigger and preparing to fire.

"Hmmm…that's a pretty good looking partner you got there kid. If you were going to shoot me you'd have done it by now, so put the damn gun down, I'd like to go get me a taste of that sweet blonde. After I hurt her a little of course, I'll bet she's a scre-"

Stanfield never finished his sentence as Chuck pulled back on the trigger, sending a silenced shot between Stanfield's eyes. The body fell quickly to the ground in a heap, as Chuck stood in the same spot, his smoking Glock still raised. He wasn't sure how long he had been standing there before he felt Sarah's soft hand on his cheek.

"Chuck…let's go, Chuck. Let's go home." Sarah grabbed him by the hand and led him towards the car.

"I need to collect my equipment." Chuck said in a monotone as he followed Sarah, his training kicking in even through his stupor.

"It's ok Chuck, Casey's getting it. Let's go."

Chuck didn't remember making it to the car, but the next thing he knew he was on a government Gulfstream heading God-knows where. Chuck blinked as he looked out the window and turned his head for the first time. Casey was sitting across from him, looking at him with concern. Sarah was in the chair next to him, holding his hand and softly running her hands through his hair.

"Chuck, it'll be ok. The shock will pass." She said.

"I almost didn't do it…but he threatened you. He threatened to hurt you Sarah, and I just couldn't let him." He said.

Sarah squeezed his hand.

"Look Chuck, I know this was hard but try not to think about it. Don't think about what you did, think about _why_. He was evil, and a traitor. You did what you had to do." Chuck was surprised to hear this bit of advice come out of Casey and not Sarah.

"Thanks guys. I'll be ok…I just need some time." He said. They rode the rest of the flight in silence, Sarah never once let go of Chuck's hand.


	5. Chapter 5 Chuck vs Coitus Interruptus

**A/N: I very much enjoyed writing this chapter, probably my second favorite one so far. The scene in the restaurant is one of my favorites of the show, because it's seeing Sarah really just being Sarah which hadn't happened a lot, and certainly the first time with Chuck.  
**

 **Fair warning, this one kind of brushes the rating boundaries, but I think I would still consider it T. If anyone is offended, I apologize, but I liked this idea.  
**

 **Finally, I'm debating how far I want this to go. I have several ideas in my head, so if everyone would be so kind to let me know you're thoughts either in reviews or private messages, I would appreciate it. Would you prefer to see a season by season rewrite (knowing that I will only highlight the episodes I feel would be dramatically different in this story) or would you rather see it go to the end of season 3, then pick up again later on? Those are the two that I am thinking most strongly, but I have a few other ideas as well.**

 **As always your reviews are so very much appreciated, seriously, you guys are too awesome. Hope you all enjoy, and as always, I do not own Chuck. I do own a pretty rad model ship that I have been working on for a few years, so you know, points for that.**

* * *

Chapter 5

Chuck and Sarah vs. Coitus Interruptus

Chuck was sitting on the couch in his apartment with a very beautiful blonde held in his arms. They were alone – the apartment across the courtyard opened up and after spending an exhausting weekend helping Ellie and Awesome move, Chuck and Sarah were relaxing in what was now all Chuck's place. Thanks to his new income as a full agent of the CIA, Chuck could finally afford his own place. What was even better is he was planning on asking his best friend Morgan to move in with him, something they had dreamed about since they were 6-years-old.

Chuck wished he could say he was happy, but he could not stop seeing the face of the man he killed. Sarah had been amazing – she had stayed with him every night, helping him through and covering for him when he froze up and she knew he was thinking about his Red Test again. She hadn't been back to her hotel room for more than a few minutes to grab clothes since they got back. She had spent every other moment with Chuck, even sleeping in his bed. They hadn't done anything more than cuddle, not that either of them didn't want to be intimate. But even if Chuck wasn't still trying to get over his Red Test, they knew they wanted to take things slow now that they had the freedom to be together for real.

They were watching a movie tonight, the newest _Jack Ryan_ movie from the Tom Clancy books. Suddenly, silenced gun-shots interrupted his thoughts. Chuck tensed, looking around for the source of the attack as he prepared to drag Sarah to the ground and cover her. Sarah squeezed him tight, running her hand through his hair which was quickly becoming one of her favorite things to do.

"Chuck, sweetie, you're ok. It was the T.V., relax. You're home, in Burbank, with me. Graham, Fulcrum…no one is here but us." Sarah turned off the TV as she resumed her ministrations on Chuck.

Chuck took a deep breath and felt his body relax. He looked down at Sarah and smiled, kissing her on the top of her head.

"Thanks, Sarah. I don't know what I would do without you," Chuck paused as he furrowed his brow, thinking.

"Sarah, how did you do it? How did you deal with your Red Test?"

Sarah sat up straight, moving out of Chuck's arms but not letting go of him as she looked him in the eye.

"Trust me Chuck, do not do what I did. I responded by putting up walls – a lot of walls. Walls that I built high and strong, and that remained in place for a long time so I could separate my emotions – separate myself – from what I was doing. They stayed up until a certain nerd downloaded a computer into his brain and proceeded to tear them down brick-by-brick."

Chuck laughed as she said this and she faked a glare at him.

"Don't you laugh, Chuck. There was a lot fine masonry that I put into those walls." Sarah smacked his arm before continuing. "You're lucky Chuck, you have friends and family to help you through this. Don't shut them out, embrace them and know that you did it for them, to keep them all safe – Ellie, Devon, Morgan…everyone." Sarah trailed off as she smiled.

"And you," Chuck finished. "Sarah, you have been so great these past few days. Thank you so much for helping me through this. It's been getting easier every day thanks to you. And of course, thanks to Casey too. I can't help but smile as I drift off thinking of that gorgeous man every night."

Sarah was formulating her response to that perverse statement as Chuck began convulsing. She looked at him with concern before she realized he was laughing. As she looked at him, she saw what he was laughing at. John Casey was standing behind the couch with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Casey you should see your face right now! Don't you ever knock or you know, use the door like a normal person?" Chuck asked while watching his friend's face in the reflection of the TV.

Casey grunted, "What gave me away?"

Floorboard about three feet from the table is loose; I felt the vibration on the other end where it comes out in front of the couch. I learned to avoid it when I would come home drunk from Morgan's and tried to sneak past Ellie without waking her up.

"Damn. Well, if you guys are all done with the ladyfeelings it's time for dinner at your sister's new apartment."

"Oh crap! Thanks, Case. I lost track of time."

The three spies stood up and checked each other to ensure their guns weren't showing. Chuck went into the kitchen and handed a bottle of wine to Sarah before grabbing the pan of Chicken Pepperoni he had made. Casey sniffed appreciatively as he picked up his signature plate of quiche.

"Looks good Casey, what kind of quiche did you make, lobster or GPS?"'

"Real funny Bartowski, I seem to recall telling you once already that I don't joke about quiche. Keep that up and I'll be eating yours."

They walked across the courtyard and rang the doorbell. The door flew open and Ellie came outside, hugging both Sarah and to his surprise, Casey.

"Thanks for coming you two!"

Chuck stood on the doorstep, ignored by his sister like he was holding chopped liver instead of Chicken Pepperoni. He expected this. Despite helping her and Devon move today, she had been giving him the cold shoulder all weekend. He told her he would explain the misunderstanding with the Buymore tonight, but she was clearly peeved at him for making her wait.

 _Can't win 'em all, I guess,_ Chuck thought with a sigh as he stepped across the door frame. He put his dish in the kitchen and shook hands with Awesome.

"Sorry, Bro. I tried to talk her down for you, but you're pretty solidly in the dog house. On the bright side, this has gotten her off my back." Chuck glared at his soon-to-be brother-in-law. "Sorry, Chuckles, but all's fair in love and war. She's been on me about the 'romance dying' since I proposed to her. It's nice to have someone else take some heat for once."

"Devon, have you tried actually, you know, taking her out sometime? That sounds like a pretty simple fix."

"Tank's empty bro. I've been working non-stop at the hospital plus the move has been exhausting. Got any ideas?"

"Yea, Devon. Just make her dinner some night. It doesn't have to be anything big, just show her you're thinking about her. Tell you what, I'll even help you. Tomorrow night, pick her up after her shift and bring her back here, I'll help you get the place ready for her."

"Thanks, Bro! You really are a lifesaver man. Have you been working out by the way? You're looking good man!"

Chuck shrugged at Awesome and clapped him on the shoulder, then poured a glass of wine for Sarah before grabbing a few beers from the fridge for him and Casey.

They all sat down around the table as Ellie glared at her little brother.

"Look, sis, there isn't much more to say that you haven't already heard. Someone broke into the Buymore and stole all of the merchandise. They cut the surveillance in the store but they got in because they stole my ID card from my pocket protector. That got them in the employee entrance and that was all that they had to go on. They found the stolen stuff in a warehouse that was connected to some drug gangs or something and they found some dead dock workers upstairs. They arrested me when I was leaving work and moved me to D.C. for questioning since they made a federal case out of it because of the drug connection. When Sarah heard she flew out to get me because I was with her the whole night that they said I did it. It took quite a bit of time to work out all the evidence because they couldn't just go off of her word. I'm sorry, sis, but I'm back now so can't we just put it behind us?"

"Chuck, you need to think about what you're doing," Ellie started. "You're not 15 anymore little brother, this is the real world. I know you didn't do anything, but are you sure there is nothing you could have done to prevent suspicions of this in the first place? I'm sure Morgan probably has something to do with this somehow."

"That's enough, Ellie." Chuck slammed his fist down on the table, making everyone jump. "Morgan is my best friend, and while he may have some misguided emotions and some motivation issues, he is not a loser and he is _definitely_ not a criminal or scum or anything like that. I love you sis, but please, stop insulting Morgan. He's a good man deep down, and a loyal friend and I'm tired of hearing otherwise."

Chuck got up from the table and walked outside into the courtyard. Sarah got up to follow him, but Ellie put her hand on her arm.

"No Sarah, I'll go talk to him." Ellie smiled at her as she walked outside.

Chuck was sitting on the edge of the fountain, looking down at the bushes and drinking from his beer.

"We should really put some fish in this fountain, give us something to focus on while we try to ignore each other during these discussions."

Chuck smiled despite his anger and looked up at his sister.

"Look, El, I'm sorry for snapping at you, but you really do need to lighten up on Morgan. I'm trying to help him get onto something better, but he doesn't deserve to be ridiculed like that. You know he's not a bad guy."

"I know, Chuck. That was wrong of me, and I'm sorry. I was worried about you and I took it too far. You've been a lot more distant lately, and I don't know what the reason is but I should know better than to think it's Morgan. You've been friends with him for 21 years; if he was going to change you for the worse he would have done it already. I'm sorry little brother, but for what it's worth I'm glad you're home."

Chuck smiled and stood up, hugging his sister. "It's good to be back, Ellie. Look, I'm sorry I've been more distant, I've just had a lot on my mind. I promise I will try to do better." They broke the hug and Ellie smiled at her little brother, just happy to have him home.

"Is that quiche I smell?" Morgan's voice rang out from outside the courtyard as he entered at the perfect time.

"Yea, little buddy. Can't hide anything from that nose." Chuck laughed.

"We're having a housewarming party Morgan…me and Devon moved across the courtyard. Would you like to join?" Ellie asked, stunning both Chuck and Morgan.

Ellie walked inside as Morgan walked up and gave Chuck a shocked look.

"So…does that mean…you need a roommate?" Morgan asked, tears forming in his eyes.

"Yea, I guess it does buddy…know anyone who's interested?"

"Chuck, don't mess with my emotions man." Morgan's eyes lit up as Chuck just laughed.

"It's yours if you want it buddy. Key is on the table."

Chuck began walking back to Ellie's apartment as Morgan sprinted for the door of their new pad. "Dibs on Ellie's room!" Morgan called as he ran inside, slamming the door.

Chuck laughed again as he opened the door, smiling at his family before joining them at the table.

* * *

 _Two days later_

Chuck and Sarah sat across from each other in the Sushi restaurant. Sarah looked as gorgeous as ever, her hair curled perfectly as she wore it down around her shoulders.

"Wow, this food is good. How'd you hear about this place anyway?"

"Morgan, as a matter of fact. The man has a black belt in dumplings I trust any recommendation he gives me for food items less that ten dollars."

"So our first date is a Morgan recommendation?"

"Wow, no faith in the little bearded man ok. I think you should know he's always been supportive of our fake relationship. And he's never found it remotely unbelievable that a guy like me could be dating a, ahem, you know."

Sarah cocked her brow quizzically…and adorably. "What?"

"Um, you know… _you_?" Chuck said, embarrassed.

"What about me?" Sarah said innocently with a shrug of her shoulders.

"You're really gonna make me say it aren't you?" Chuck asked with a laugh. Sarah cocked her head to the side comically. "Wow, ok fine, alright we'll play it your way. A girl like you. Or more appropriately a woman like you, considering the fact that you could probably kick the ass of everyone in this joint. And uh, a smart one at that. Not to mention cool and…extremely beautiful…and…and you can stop me anytime with the compliments if they're becoming, you know…"

Sarah smiled, her eyes beginning to glisten. "No, that was, uh, very sweet."

"Sweet…Golly gee thanks for making me feel like I'm eight."

Sarah giggled. "Well you're not so bad yourself"

"Please…I'm fantastic." Chuck smirked.

Sarah smiled a genuine smile in return, and completely seriously said, "Yea, you are."

Chuck looked at her with his signature goofy grin. "What would Casey think if he knew we were doing this right now?"

"It would probably kill him."

"That or he would probably vomit everywhere and ruin everyone's appetite."

"Gross, Chuck." Sarah said even as she laughed. "You know, I'm really glad we did this."

"You know what, I'm glad too, Sarah. It's been a long time coming and I really hope we can do it again sometime…hopefully often."

Chuck leaned in as he spoke, getting closer to Sarah.

"What are you saying, Chuck?" Sarah asked as she leaned in too, moving her eyes from his deep brown eyes to his soft, tender lips.

"What I've always wanted to say, Sarah."

Chuck began leaning in closer when something popped behind Sarah and it drew his gaze. He looked behind her as he was closing in to kiss her when he felt the flash overtake him.

"No-no-no-no-no, not now, not now!" He flashed in rapid succession, first on a man in the restaurant then a woman, followed by the chef. Chuck pulled out of the last flash and felt his head begin to throb.

"Chuck, what is it?" Sarah asked, concerned.

"Sarah…we're surrounded."

The pair locked eyes and silently began counting threats, their training going into over drive. As they were locking down a final count of the opposition, a large figure walked up beside the table.

"Hello again, chuck"

Sarah looked up at the large, black man. "And you are"

My name is Mr. Colt, and I need you to come with me."

"And now why would we do that Mr. Colt?"

"Because I assume you find me imposing, don't worry, be honest, I was going for imposing."

"Sorry, no dice…you should try a dog next time, Sarah's afraid."

Sarah glared at Chuck, dropping her voice to a whisper. "That was one time and it was moving to an attack position."

"Honey, it was a shih tzu and it was trying to get past you so it could eat."

Colt was becoming irritated. "Enough! Let's go, we'll take care of the check."

"You know, are you sure? The Moo Goo Gai pan is very expensive here, we could probably go Dutch. How much do bad guys normally tip?"

Chuck began reaching to his flank for his Glock 38. As his hand closed around the handle he glanced at Sarah who flipped the table into colt as Chuck stood, pulling his gun. Despite Sarah's excellent prowess and her attempt to use chopsticks as a weapon, Colt was too strong for her, and he smashed the table out of the way, grabbing Sarah by the throat.

"Move and she dies!"

Chuck stood still, his gun aiming at Colt's head when his watch started beeping.

"What is that?" Colt asked.

Chuck looked outside as he heard an engine revving. "Is that a crown Victoria?"

Sarah's eyes grew wide. "Movvveeeee!"

Casey smashed through the storefront in his Crown Victoria, sending glass, tables and bad guys flying through the air.

"Hey! Somebody order drive-thru?" He yelled as he stepped out of the driver's seat.

Sarah and Chuck scrambled through the chaos to the car, firing as they went. Chuck and Sarah each took down several of the enemy agents as Casey prepared to take down Colt before he landed a lucky punch to Casey's face. Chuck and Sarah realized they were still severely outnumbered as they made it to the car so they yelled for Casey to get in, and with a squeal of rubber they sped off into the night.

"Really, Casey? You really couldn't resist the one liner? 'Somebody order drive-thru,' huh? Did you think that up as you were racing over to save us? Oh! Maybe I'll say this as I crash my car into the building, tehe!"

"Shut it, numb-nuts. If you two wouldn't have been making googly-eyes at each other in such a public place, I probably wouldn't have had to mess up the Vic – again – in the first place."

"Casey, lay off." Sarah climbed into the back seat with Chuck and began checking him over. After finding no injuries, Sarah sidled up close to Chuck, sliding her arm through his.

"So…you were saying?"

"Oh _hell_ no, you two are not making a mess in the back of my Vic! I will not hesitate to shoot you both, you stop it right this frakking second!"

Sarah smiled evilly as she only moved closer to Chuck.

Chuck dropped his voice; no need to poke the bear, but he still wanted to finish the conversation. "I was saying that I want to be with you, Sarah. For real. No more covers, no more lies, just us. Before I became an agent I just wanted to be able to deal with the fake relationship but now…now there's nothing holding us back, and I want to be together."

Sarah smiled as she looked into his eyes. "Chuck…you're everything I always needed and all the things I never knew I wanted. I'm in…I'm yours." Sarah leaned in and locked her lips with his. Chuck returned the kiss in kind as they heard a low growl from the front seat but proceeded to ignore it. If they had both been a little less distracted, they would have noticed the lack of menace in the growl and seen the smirk on their partner's face.

* * *

Sarah and Chuck were sitting on the couch in his apartment the next night, kissing furiously. Chuck's tongue was exploring Sarah's mouth, tasting her tongue and sweet lips as the two battled for space in each other's mouths. They were making up for lost time, both the last year of their fake relationship followed by an all-night man hunt for the stolen cipher. After once again battling Mr. Colt and finally arresting him and securing the cipher, the two were in for some much needed time together.

Eventually, Chuck began to feel his chest burn and realized this was no longer the giant bubble of happiness he had been feeling at finally being with Sarah for real, but instead it was his need for oxygen finally gaining a brief win over his need for Sarah. His lungs' victory did not last long as he simply shifted his lips to her jaw, placing kisses along her perfectly shaped chin and moving down to her soft, succulent neck. He knew he struck pay-dirt as he heard a sharp intake of breath from Sarah, and he maintained his lips below Sarah's ear in what he now found to be a very, very sensitive location.

Chuck continued his ministrations on Sarah's neck as she looked towards the ceiling, a soft moan escaping her. Chuck's hands worked their way up the inside of her shirt along her back, feeling the taught ridge of her spine as he worked his way up.

Sarah shivered at his electric touch as she thought about the last time she had felt this good, this strong of a connection. The more she thought about it – as much as she could think about anything with Chuck sucking on her neck like that – she had never felt this much pleasure from simply _kissing_ before. Despite Casey's many insinuations to needle Chuck, Sarah had never once slept with a mark. First of all, the thought of actually sleeping with someone for something other than expressing her feelings to that person was absolutely repulsive to her and she considered it far beneath her. True, as a CIA agent she often needed to flaunt her body to get information, but flaunting and touching were two _very_ different things. In addition to those notions, if one lesson from Roan Montgomery's Infiltration and Inducement of Enemy Personnel class stood out clearly in her memory, it was this: If you ever had to resort to actually sleeping with your mark, you had already failed your assignment miserably.

Sarah by no means considered herself innocent. She enjoyed having sex, and lots of it. But the truth of the matter is, there were very few people she trusted enough to ever be intimate with. Bryce was the first one she had finally allowed herself to be with since her first time with one of the friends she had made while training at The Farm. They had both been virgins at the time, but that changed as they realized how risky their lives had become. The two had become close friends, and he was nearing the end of his training, so Sarah had decided it was time for them to do this with each other as he was the first guy she had felt close enough to for her to even consider it. Despite the usual hiccups of two people having sex for the first time, she enjoyed it immensely. Two weeks later, he was sent off on his first solo mission and he never came back.

Sarah had always kept to herself after everything she had been through. She certainly wanted to have sex, but thanks to her trust issues, she mostly just took care of her needs herself. The exception to that was Bryce Larkin. Sure, they had a lot of fun together, but that was all it was – fun. There was no love, no…connection, like there was now, with Chuck. They still hadn't even had sex, hell, they were still fully clothed, and it was already ten times better than anything she had done before.

As amazing as it was for her, she knew it must have been even more so for Chuck. She was not so full of herself as to think that she was the only reason, but thanks to the CIA's surprisingly thorough notes on him prior to him becoming an Agent, Sarah knew that Jill was his first. Sarah also knew that nothing happened between him and Lou because he had specifically told her that and she trusted him completely. She couldn't help but feel bad for her Chuck – he was not exactly an unattractive guy and yet thanks to his confidence problems he hadn't known anything other than his hand in the last 6 years.

 _That changes tonight, sweetheart,_ she thought to herself.

Sarah pushed him back down on the couch and climbed on top of him, throwing her hair over her shoulder with a flip of her head. She crossed her arms in front of her abdomen, pulling her blouse up over her head as she shook her hair out. She giggled as Chuck's eyes grew wide, looking her up and down. Normally when men checked her out she felt dirty but not when Chuck did. Chuck always looked at her with such _reverence._ Such pure, kind-hearted longing, that she couldn't help but feel equally happy and turned on when he looked at her like that. Chuck, always the gentleman, moved his hands slowly up her toned sides, gently working his way under the edges of her bra as he looked her straight in the eye, silently asking for her permission before proceeding. As an answer, Sarah just affectionately rolled her eyes before running one hand through his hair and unhooking the clasp on her bra with the other. She slid the bra off and threw it across the room as Chuck literally stopped breathing. She pressed herself to his body as she resumed her attack on his mouth, before pulling Chuck's shirt over his head.

Chuck kissed her back with a vengeance as he tangled one hand in her flowing blonde hair, the other gently massaging her breasts. Chuck moved his lips back to her neck and another moan escaped her as she slid her hands down his thoroughly toned abdomen, and fumbled as she began to unbuckle his belt, her hands shaking. Chuck moved his lips from her neck and began to kiss and nibble on her ear, whispering her name.

"Sarah…"

Sarah fidgeted as her name on his lips sent shivers down her spine. She finally succeeded in her conquest of his belt and slowly slid her hand inside his pants, her eyes widening as she felt her objective.

"Oh, Chuck…"

Just as Sarah began to move her lips down his chest, a knock at the door sounded. The two ignored it, not a care in the world as they continued their assessment of each other, but the knock sounded again, louder and more persistent this time.

Chuck groaned as Sarah slid off of his lap and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch, covering her bare chest. Chuck got off the couch and started heading towards the door.

"Chuck, sweetheart, I swear to God if you do not shoot whoever the _hell_ that is and get back to this couch within five seconds, we are through."

Chuck smiled as he grabbed his gun as a precaution. He walked up to the window and stealthily peered through the curtain, seeing Devon's muscular form. He opened the door a crack, hiding his gun around the corner.

"Chuck, bro, thanks so much for what you did in the apartment! That was awesome, and Ellie loved it! Up top!" Devon raised his hand for a high five and smiled.

Chuck returned the high five and looked awkwardly back at Sarah.

"I'm glad she liked it man, but I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"Ahhh coitus interruptus, so not awesome. Sorry, Bro, looks like I'm not the only one getting lucky tonight. I'll get out of your hair, but seriously bro…Ellie and I haven't had that much fun since our residencies, we finally christened every room in the house!"

"Ah! Need to unhear that, how can I unhear that? That's my sister, Devon."

"Sorry Bro, thanks again, and have fun kids. Bye Sarah!"

Chuck looked back at Sarah to see her laughing uncontrollably with her head in her hands. Chuck laid his gun back down on the coffee table as he lifted Sarah up in his arms, the blanket falling to the floor.

"Chuck! Put me down!" Sarah squealed, laughing as he carried her down the hallway. "Chuck, shouldn't you get your gun at least? Where's Morgan?"

" _Now_ you're worried about Morgan, not earlier when you had me pinned with your body on display for the entire Casa de Bartowski?"

Sarah hit him squarely in the chest. "Well, you were fairly effectively distracting me with your lips. Did they teach you that in school?"

Chuck threw her down on his bed. "Hmmm why no, Ms. Walker, that was purely the result of one too many cold showers during our cover relationship. After a while the effectiveness of the cold water started to wear off. And for the record, Morgan is spending the night in the Home Theater Room at the Buymore thanks to a few tranq darts."

"Oh Chuck, you didn't! Is that what you resort to when the cold showers stop working? Well, well, well…I do believe I know how to remedy that." Sarah said as she lay on her back, propping herself up on her elbows, her perfect body on display for Chuck.

Chuck slowly crawled up the bed, hovering over Sarah as he kissed her soundly on the lips. He moved his lips to her neck and began slowly trailing kisses down her chest. He spent some time paying some attention to every inch of Sarah's torso with his mouth as his hands slowly roamed up and down her toned legs. Chuck then moved his lips down her stomach and kissed the button of her jeans before he unbuttoned them and slowly slid jeans and panties down her legs in one. Chuck stood, stunned as he admired a fully naked Sarah Walker, the moonlight spilling in through the window and painting her in a pale glow. He had never seen a more beautiful sight in his entire life and he still could not believe that this was happening.

Chuck had to remind himself to breathe, but he did not have much time to recover as Sarah just laughed before wrapping her legs around him and pulling him in.

 _"_ Who's-your-momma!" Chuck shouted as he moved back on top of her. Quite a few minutes and a thoroughly messed-up bed later, Chuck wiped his mouth as Sarah collapsed in a heap, her skin now glistening with sweat.

"Oh my God, Chuck. Are you sure they aren't teaching new classes since I've been through training? Holy crap, I feel like I just ran 10 miles…that was just the foreplay?"

Chuck grinned at the complement as he crawled up the length of the bed, laying down next to Sarah and gathering her up in his arms. To his dismay, she pushed him away.

"I don't think so, Agent Bartowski, we've barely even begun," Sarah said with a purr and a saucy smirk.

Sarah moved her way down to the end of the bed, removing the last extraneous articles of clothing covering Chuck. She trailed kisses down his toned abs and smiled while looking at him before proceeding to occupy her time in other ways.

Chuck was aware of very little – after all, it was near impossible to concentrate on anything when Sarah Walker was working her magic on you. However, despite the undeniable pleasure that Sarah was causing, Chuck's spy senses began to kick into high gear. With difficulty he opened his eyes and looked towards the Morgan door as he let out a yell, witnessing the titular member of said door tapping on the window with his eyes covered.

At his yell, Sarah jumped backwards, reaching for her knife before she saw it was Morgan. Chuck covered Sarah up before pulling his boxers back on and heading to the window.

"Morgan, what the _hell_ are you doing?" Chuck screamed at his friend, furious.

"Sorry Dude, I'm not trying to be a perv or interrupt special time with your lady, I just fell asleep in the Buymore and can't find my key. I closed my eyes before getting to the window, I swear."

"Boundaries, buddy, boundaries…next time, use the damn phone." Chuck shooed Morgan out of his room and locked the door.

"Chuck, next time we have sex, we are using my hotel room and we shoot to kill if _anyone_ interrupts." Sarah growled before literally jumping out of bed and yanking Chuck back to her.

Several hours later, a thoroughly spent Chuck and Sarah held each other close as they basked in the glow of their love-making. They both had content smiles plastered on their faces as they held each other close, neither wanting to let the other go even an inch away from them now that they finally were able to hold each other for real.

Just as Chuck was getting ready to drift off to sleep, he heard a knock for the third time that night. Chuck let out a howl like a wounded animal as Sarah moaned in anger. Chuck looked outside to see the hulking form of John Casey. Chuck leapt from the bed and pulled his Remington 870 shotgun out from under his bed, pumping the action has he pulled the Morgan Door open and aimed the gun at his friend.

"Case, there had better be a nuclear bomb descending upon the White House or I swear you are dead."

Casey didn't react at all but simply looked at Chuck and then the covered-up Sarah on the bed.

"Can I come in? This is too sensitive to say out here."

Chuck sighed and moved over, allowing Casey to enter as he closed the window.

"What is it Casey, please make it quick." Sarah said, clearly pissed off.

"Thought you two rabbits would like to know that Graham is dead. He tried to activate a new intersect without Beckman's knowledge. Security cam showed he used the cipher, but it was a Trojan horse, a sabotage device. As soon as it came online, it exploded. We are now solely under the direction of Beckman, the new DDO will be briefed on the team but not the Intersect…we can't risk telling more people about the Intersect after this. Full briefing tomorrow in Castle, for now…use this for the love of God," Casey tossed a condom to Chuck. "I don't think I can handle a little Bartowski running around."

With that last statement and a well-timed dodge of Sarah's incoming throwing knife, Casey left the apartment. The two looked at each other before cuddling back up and holding each other with the unspoken agreement that nothing needed to be said on the matter that night. Tonight, all that mattered was the two lovers holding each other close and _finally_ falling asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

 **This is the longest chapter yet...but they keep getting longer and longer with every single one I write. This was originally supposed to contain the next two chapters as well, but it just kept snowballing...and then on top of that, the next chapter got so long that I had to put off the second part of _that_ one as well, so you're getting three chapters for the price of one.**


	6. Chapter 6 Sarah vs the Lamborghini

**A/N: Thanks as usual for the awesome reviews and feedback! I've got a pretty good idea of where I'm going to go with this now, and I'm pretty excited. As always reviews are very welcome, you guys make this very enjoyable to write! This was originally supposed to be part of the last chapter, but that one and then this one became wayyyy too long, so I split them up. Hope you enjoy!  
**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck, but I do own the box set on Blu-Ray, so I almost do!**

* * *

Chapter 6

Sarah vs. the Lamborghini

"Bartowski….Chuck, Bartowski. That's Agent Bartowski to you tough guy." Chuck was standing in his bedroom, making a fool of himself for Sarah's benefit as usual. He had been fixing his tie in the mirror when she thought she could stand unnoticed in the doorway and watch him without his knowledge, apparently forgetting that Chuck was now a spy too. After effectively making Sarah laugh and give away her position, Chuck walked up to her and pulled her close into a brief but passionate kiss. The two had barely left each other's side for the past several weeks, ever since officially getting together.

Chuck took in a deep breath as he looked into Sarah's eyes, marveling in just how fantastic things have been with her. They had been able to enjoy several more dates – with no car crashes or bad guys this time – and they both were constantly happy. Chuck brushed Sarah's hair behind her ear and was about to say good morning when an array of pleasant aromas assaulted his nose.

"Good morning beautiful…either you've started wearing bacon-scented perfume – an odd though not unappealing choice, I might add – or someone has infiltrated our kitchen with some breakfast."

Sarah raised her eyebrows. " _Our_ kitchen?" She said with a smirk.

Chuck began to stammer and Sarah let him stew for a few seconds. She honestly wasn't sure how she felt about his slip of the tongue. They had agreed to take things slow, not wanting to mess things up now that they have each other, but at the same time knowing that they could not see any possibilities that could separate them. Despite knowing this, Sarah was not sure if she was ready for that next step. Sure, she was spending every night at Chuck's place anyway and sure she had even let him drive her precious Porsche – the first person besides her to ever drive it – but moving in? That was an astronomically huge step. Sarah was still fighting her internal struggle with the notion when she noticed Chuck was still babbling so Sarah leaned in and kissed him, stopping his words in his throat.

"Chuck, relax, I was teasing you. I'm over here every day anyway; it's started to feel like our kitchen…even though a certain someone doesn't seem to use it very often."

"Hey! I do the dishes! And I am very skilled at preparing lavish dishes such as Captain Crunch with fresh Cream and Brownie a la Mode." Chuck said this with a French accent and gave her a short performance of the Bartowski eyebrow dance as she giggled.

"Yea well, right now you have an omelet a la bacon and we have a briefing in 15 so get to it before my hard work goes to waste. I don't get up early for just anyone, Chuck."

Moments later, Chuck began eating his omelet and moaned in satisfaction. "Sarah, this is delicious! I had no idea you could cook so well!"

"Really, Chuck? Who do you think made the soufflé when I met your sister and Awesome?"

"Well…I guess I just assumed the CIA made it or you bought it."

Sarah glared at him. "I suppose since you destroyed it, I can't be overly mad at you for thinking it was store-bought. Trust me; it was way better than anything you'd buy from a store."

Chuck swallowed theatrically. "Point taken, sweetheart."

Chuck and Sarah sat in comfortable silence as they finished their breakfast, occasionally exchanging small talk or picking at each other's plates. After they were done, Chuck rinsed the plates and put them in the dishwasher. _Still counts as doing dishes,_ Chuck thought to himself. A definite upside to Sarah being with him so often meant that they could carpool to 'work' and because of this, Chuck didn't have to leave the house nearly as early to beat traffic. As they were cruising down the I-5 at a leisurely 102 (leisurely for Sarah, that is), Chuck cleared his throat.

"So…about that whole our kitchen comment…what do you think about, um, making it our kitchen for real? I mean obviously it would be more than just the kitchen, I'm not stuck in 1950's gender roles, and I know better than to tell you to get in the kitchen. But…sorry, what I'm trying to say is Sarah…would you like to move in with me?"

Sarah stared straight ahead as she thought about the offer now that it has been actually put into words. Truthfully, she had been thinking of little else since her initial thoughts that morning. This would be a huge step for her if they did this…putting roots down was something she had avoided since she was a little girl pulling cons with her father.

Chuck noticed her hesitation and the look on her face as he squeezed her hand and smiled, "Sarah, don't freak out. If you want to wait, I completely understand, I realize how huge this would be for you after being a spy for so long. I just figured, you're over every day anyway and I love having you there so I figured it would make sense to just make it permanent." Chuck cringed at the last word, hoping it wasn't the straw that breaks the camel's back and sends Sarah running for the hills. To his relief, she just squeezed his hand back and with a grin of her own she turned her head to look at him, something that would scare other people witless at the speeds they were going, but Chuck trusted her completely.

"Chuck, I would love that. I'm sorry for hesitating, it's just…this goes beyond just me being a spy. It has to do with my childhood too. I know we haven't talked about that much yet, but I think it's time I start letting you in a little. My dad is coming to town in a few months and I want you to meet him, but there is something you should know first. The reason I am so good at being a ghost is I've been doing that since I was just a little girl. My dad was…not a very good person. He wasn't violent or anything like that," she paused after seeing the worried look on Chuck's face. "My dad…is a conman. We spent years running cons together all over the country, until Graham had him arrested my senior year of high school and recruited me."

Sarah fell silent, wishing she wasn't driving so she could close her eyes and hide. She half expected Chuck to ask her to pull over so he could get out of the car and run away from her, but instead he surprised her by doing the last thing she expected and brought her hand to his lips as he stroked her hair. Instead of shunning her, Chuck was simply once again showing her how much she meant to him and to be honest, it really should not be surprising to her anymore.

"Sarah, I didn't exactly have the greatest family life either, so you can quit being afraid I'll judge you for having a strange childhood. Everything that happened to you in the past has made you the woman you are today and more importantly all of it brought you to me. So you had an – alternative – childhood, but I definitely understand why it's so hard for you to think about this then. If you need time, then I completely understand. You can have all the time you need, I'm not going anywhere…like it or not, you're stuck with me for a while sweetheart."

Sarah smiled hugely as she looked over at him once more. "Chuck Bartowski, you better stop talking before I get mad. I don't need more time. I'm tired of running from a real life and running from happiness just because I'm afraid that someone will judge me for my past. I'm ready to do this….to move in with you, and more than that, I want to. Badly."

Chuck smiled right back as he kissed the back of her hand again, but more conversation was prevented as they were pulling into the parking lot of the Orange Orange. Chuck jumped out of the car as she was still coming to a complete stop and he ran around to her side, opening the door for her.

"M'lady," he said with a grin and a slight bow. Sarah laughed as she got out of the car and kissed him on the cheek.

"Ugh, can't you two morons keep that in the bedroom?" Casey was standing inside already, waiting for them impatiently as Chuck began to tickle the deadly assassin while holding the door to the yogurt shop for her.

"Sorry, Case, I thought I saw a surveillance bug on her, just wanted to make sure we were all properly cleared before entering the briefing."

"Moron," Casey grunted while heading into the freezer. Sarah playfully slapped Chuck to get him to stop tickling her.

"I think you've swept me enough, Agent Bartowski, I'd say I'm clean."

"That's a matter of opinion Agent Walker, as I recall from last night, you were plenty dirty."

That earned him a full-force punch to the arm and he was still rubbing his shoulder as he walked down the steps into Castle. Casey was already sitting at the table, reading through the morning's intelligence brief (the cliff note's version of the different operations in the intelligence world at the moment). Chuck and Sarah sat down and attempted to focus on their copy while they waited for Beckman to join them on the monitor. The two kept stealing glances at each other until Chuck lost the game completely when Sarah slipped her shoe off and planted her foot squarely in his lap.

He yelped and started to say something to Sarah when Beckman's scowling features appeared on the flat screen, so he dropped his voice to a whisper as he pleaded with her.

"Ahem. Is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class, Agent Bartowski?"

"No, sorry General. Zipping it up." Chuck tried not to cringe at his unfortunate word choice. The General removed her glasses and peered at her team through the screen.

"The Fulcrum threat is far worse than it originally appeared. We've learned one of their agents stole an encrypted microchip containing top secret information out of the DNI. The information on the chip contained highly classified intelligence. A refresh for the new intersect."

The three teammates looked at each other, all of them very concerned with this new information. After a thoroughly worried look at Chuck it was Sarah who broke the silence.

"Is there anything on the chip that can compromise our cover?" Sarah had just made the decision to actually move in to an honest-to-God home with her honest-to-God boyfriend…she was not about to let Fulcrum or Graham or any of them screw this up for her.

Beckman frowned, concern momentarily flashing across her features. Despite the tough-gal act that she must put on at all times due to being the highest ranking General in the intelligence community, she had come to care for the three individuals before her. Of course, she could never let them or anyone else know that.

"Unfortunately yes. Our analysts have learned that Fulcrum hired Von Hayes, a wealthy software magnate to decrypt the chip and deliver the information back. Mr. Hayes is throwing a lavish party at his Bel Air estate this evening. The finest dining, music, and guests. Your job will be to pose as a couple invited to the party, and steal back the chip."

Chuck smiled, looking forward to a good party mission. Lately they had been doing a lot more cloak-and-dagger type missions, and as much as he enjoyed those, a night of gourmet food, champagne and dancing with his beautiful girlfriend sounded perfect.

"See this is what I'm talking about General, finally a mission I can sink my teeth into. Dust off the tux, polish up the dancing shoes…"

Sarah couldn't help but smile at her adorable boyfriend as he got excited for the mission. That is, until Beckman interrupted him.

"Sorry, Chuck, this mission is going to require a temporary addition."

Chuck did a double-take as the door to Castle opened and the very last person he wanted to see walked through the door.

"Sorry I'm late; L.A. traffic is still the worst."

If Chuck hadn't gone through his recent training, his jaw would have dropped.

" _Bryce?_ "

* * *

Chuck was attempting to calm Sarah down as she continued to bury her throwing knives into the wooden practice dummy and burying them to the hilt.

"How are you ok with this, Chuck?" She yelled as she sent her last knife soaring across the room. Chuck walked up to her and grabbed her from behind, crossing her arms and pinning them to her body as he softly kissed her on the cheek in what has become the patent-pending Bartowski Valkyrie Restraint Maneuver.

"Sarah, I wouldn't say I'm over the moon about it but it isn't real and more importantly, I trust you. If Beckman thinks this is the best line-up for the covers, then I trust her judgement. She may not be the cuddliest Commissioned Officer, but she's earned my trust. And besides, you have to admit she has a point – it would be a lot harder for me to find an excuse to get near Von Hayes if I had you with me. We'd get close alright, but he'd immediately send me away so he could woo you from me. This way I can be near him to serve him endless wine and see if I can flash on his contact."

Sarah sighed but relaxed into Chuck's embrace. "I know, Chuck, I just really don't like this. I don't want anything to come between us, ever, and while I would never let that happen I don't like the idea of parading myself in front of you with another guy."

"Well, if it helps, just imagine he's me. I would say I'll be doing the same with Von Hayes and you, but it would probably ruin the mission if I started making out with him."

Sarah burst out laughing. _Success_ , Chuck thought. Before they could talk any more on the subject, Bryce entered the dojo and looked at the two lovers holding each other.

"Keeping up the cover guys?" Bryce asked with a smirk. "I was wondering if you had a minute to talk, Sarah."

Chuck couldn't say he was surprised. After learning what the cover assignments were for the night, a thoroughly pissed off Sarah hadn't said two words to her former partner and ex-boyfriend before she declared it was time to work out. Chuck actually wanted to have a word with his friend, but decided it was probably a wiser decision to follow and attempt to calm his girlfriend before she reduced the knife-dummy to mulch.

"Actually Bryce, I think it's better if all three of us talk. How about we go spend some time on the range…Sarah's already kicked my ass at sparring, I have to try and beat her at something." Chuck laughed internally at the confused look on Bryce's face – it was still a closely guarded secret that Chuck had become an Agent, even from those who knew of the Intersect.

"You let your asset spar with you, Sarah? I must have missed that day at the Farm."

Sarah just frowned at the superior attitude that Bryce was displaying. She didn't know if he was trying to compete with Chuck or if he had always been like this and she just hadn't noticed until now when she had the exact opposite trait in her boyfriend – humble yet confident.

"Oh, I've learned a thing or two, Bryce." Chuck decided he would leave it at that, and let Bryce figure things out on his own. They walked into the range and selected their favorite rifles and pistols to begin with. Casey was already working his magic with his Sig, a single hole the size of a half-dollar in the center of his silhouette target. As his training made clear however, appearances were misleading because two empty magazines lay at Casey's feet, indicating he put all of his shots in roughly the same spot, for 26 straight rounds rather than the one or two that it appeared.

"Damn Casey, you're on the ball today. Admit it, you just want to convince me to buddy up with you during our next firefight instead of Sarah."

Casey grunted and Sarah laughed as Bryce just stood there dumbfounded.

"So what did you want to talk about, Bryce?" Sarah asked as she chambered a round in her Smith & Wesson. Bryce walked close and tried to drop his voice, but he was not able to hide his conversation from Chuck or Casey, who both were using hearing protection with built in microphones that amplified the sound around them so they could still communicate but instantly turned off if the noise level spiked above a certain decibel. In addition to this bit of cheating, Chuck had also spent quite a bit of time during training learning how to read lips.

"So, Mrs. Anderson should I come over to your room a few hours early tonight, so we can _debrief_ on our covers? I tried coming by last night, but you weren't there." Bryce clearly tried to ask this as suavely as possible, but Sarah's response – emptying her entire magazine into the groin of her silhouette target – stopped him in his tracks.

"Are you serious, Bryce? Is that all that I was to you, someone to get it in with? You meant something to me Bryce, but if you don't get that I don't do casual then you clearly didn't deserve the chance I gave you in the first place. I mean really, you couldn't even say hello before skipping to the double-entendre bullshit?"

Sarah stormed off as Bryce stood there, opening and closing his mouth. Chuck caught her eye, and from the look knew that he was to join her or there would be hell to pay. Chuck brushed her arm as she passed and silently told her he would be there in a minute.

Chuck opened his mouth to tell Bryce off for the way he was treating Sarah, but to his surprise Casey, who had been watching the exchange while cleaning his gun, beat him to it.

"Look numb-nuts, if you're going to be a part of this team, even temporarily, you need to get something through that mop you call hair. Walker is the best spy I have ever worked with and you will treat her with respect or if she doesn't kill you, then I will; only this time I put a round between your eyes. Bartowski and Walker are my team, and besides being the best team I have ever worked with, they are my friends. So do us all a favor: keep it in your pants and keep your mouth shut." Casey reassembled his pistol, slid the magazine home, and pulled back the slide before exiting, leaving a stunned Chuck and Bryce in his wake.

"What is going on here, Chuck? What did you do and what happened between the three of you?"

Chuck shrugged and smiled. "It's classified, Bryce, even over your head. But Casey's right. Don't ever disrespect Sarah again, or there will be hell to pay on multiple fronts."

Chuck left as well and Bryce just stood there shaking his head.

* * *

Chuck was again standing in front of the mirror, but this time he was in Sarah's hotel room as he was tying the bowtie on his server's uniform. After a few laps on the Interstate at breakneck speeds, Sarah had finally calmed down thanks in part to the driving but mostly to Chuck's constant jokes and his soft stroking of Sarah's hair. They had returned to her hotel and packed up her few bags and Chuck couldn't help but smile. He was packing away the picture of the two of them on a hike with Ellie and Awesome. Chuck was holding her from behind, the love clearly evident on their faces even though this was before they were truly together. As they were getting ready to leave and finally check Sarah out, there was a knock on the door. Chuck walked to the door and opened it, unsurprised to find Bryce standing there.

"Hey Chuck, sales up at the Buymore?" Bryce asked as he pushed past him into the room. Chuck had to admit, the spy life did not do good things for Bryce's personality or ego. Back in school Bryce had been just as nerdy as he was, and almost as king and caring (though Chuck being his modest self would always say Bryce was a nicer guy than he was). Ever since coming back to live, however, Bryce was being a royal douche. Chuck wasn't sure if this was due to too many years undercover or maybe something deeper.

 _Sure Bryce, I'll bite._ "Yea, I guess Bryce," Chuck began _._ Chuck was just happy to see that Bryce still hadn't figured out he was an Agent now. "As a matter of fact, Buymore is good, we just got a new MacBook SMC firmware update, so you know, things are a little nutty." _May as well sell the cover_.

"I can imagine." Bryce said, not hiding the fact that he seemed to think very little of Chuck's 'career.' Chuck noticed Bryce looking around the empty room, finally noticing the stack of suitcases by the door.

"Sarah getting a new place?"

Chuck smirked out of the corner of his mouth so Bryce didn't see. "Something like that. You ready yet? Sarah left her Porsche at Castle so we need to take my car over.

"No need, Chuck, I have my Ferrari outside…CIA shipped it over. After all, gotta look the part when we show up to Von Hayes' party and I don't think a 4-cylinder Nerd Herder sets the right impression."

 _Ahh…a pissing match,_ Chuck thought, _perfect._ Bryce could try and show off with his flashy car, but Chuck preferred his new car…after all, it just seemed to mean a lot more when you put sweat and muscle into your car, not just dollars. _Nerd Herder my ass._

"Suit yourself."

Just as he said this, he heard the bathroom door open as Sarah came out. Chuck's breath caught in his throat as he looked at his gorgeous girlfriend. She had her hair up in an elegant knot, only a few strands in the front hanging down to accent her beautifully made-up face. Sarah always know how to make herself look amazing, wearing the perfect amount of make-up without overdoing it. Her tanned skin glistened, and she was wearing a stunning salmon-colored gown. Chuck certainly loved her in blue, but he may have a new contending color after seeing her in this dress. She smirked as she could see the effect she was having on Chuck while he looked her up and down, pure adoration in his eyes. Her smirk faded as she saw that Bryce, too, was checking her out, however he held nothing but an animalistic lust in his eyes – not exactly attractive.

"Hey guys! So how do I look?" Sarah asked with a smile.

Bryce smiled, "You always did have amazing curves, Mrs. Anderson."

Sarah glared at him and he just got more confused than he had been earlier. _What happened to her?_

"Sarah…you look amazing. Absolutely breathtakingly, gorgeous. It'll be shocking if anyone can concentrate on anything but you tonight, myself included."

Sarah smiled a huge, genuine smile. _Now that is a compliment._

"Ready to go?" She asked. Chuck nodded as he picked up her luggage and moved outside. Bryce walked down the hall to call the elevator.

"So…last time we'll be outside this lovely green door…you sure you're ready for this Sarah? I don't want to push you too fast."

Sarah sent a glare his way. "Chuck Bartowski, if you're getting cold feet you better have a good escape plan thought up."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Sarah. Just, you know, started to feel bad about getting involved with a married woman, Mrs. Anderson."

"Do you want to get shot, Chuck? Because I will shoot you."

"And I believe you. Come on, I'll put your bags in my car."

They rode the elevator down in silence, pausing at the desk while Sarah checked out. The three of them walked to the Ferrari. Bryce got right into the driver's seat without noticing anything was amiss. Chuck rolled his eyes and walked to the passenger side, opening the door for Sarah.

"Bryce, I thought you were supposed to be charming?" Chuck asked with a small smile at Sarah. She thanked him as she got into the car, making sure all of her dress made it in before Chuck closed the door. "See you two there, be safe." Chuck closed the door and Sarah watched him as Bryce drove away.

Chuck carried Sarah's bags to his own car. Thanks again to his new CIA salary, he decided it was time to purchase his own vehicle. He had gone hunting for his dream car, and finally found it. It was definitely a classic: '69 Z28 Chevy Camaro. Deep, burnt orange with two black racing strips splashed on the hood, continuing onto the trunk. The roof was matte black metal, but the real beauty was inside the beast. In addition to computers, Chuck had always enjoyed messing around with engines. He had never before had the chance to really work on one, much to his dismay – before now that is. He had purchased and installed a brand new Chevy 720 big-block engine, the same engine that could be found in a brand new street racer. His baby was a 620 horse power, 8-speed manual-transmission monster.

The interior of the car itself was also impressive, thanks again to Chuck's electronics skill. Brand new racing gauges were the least of the upgrades; he had also included a full overhaul of almost every system. The center dash where the radio was located was angled towards the driver in this particular car, which suited Chuck just fine. He had installed a touch-screen entertainment console that also had the benefit of multiple added features such as GPS tracking and a direct links to General Beckman and Castle, courtesy of the CIA and NSA. He had installed racing-style bucket seats (without the full harness), and of course upgraded the safety features by adding the best options in airbags and reinforcements. Not only did this car look and drive awesome, but it also could take one hell of a beating. Which, in his line of work, was a serious necessity.

Chuck stowed Sarah's bags in the trunk and got in, closing his eyes in delight as the engine roared to life. Chuck charged out of the parking lot and out into the night, preparing for the mission ahead and hoping he wouldn't get too distracted by Sarah's dress.

* * *

Chuck stood at the bar of the mansion, looking out at the crowd with Von Hayes gave a lengthy speech about how awesome he is. He scanned the room as he attempted to flash, ignoring the soft giggling and flirting coming from Sarah and Bryce over in the corner. A few months ago, he would have been nearly shutting down with jealousy as he watched Sarah interacting with Bryce. Now, thanks to his training and his trust for Sarah, he was able to ignore the 'couple' as he did his job. Of course, Sarah's constant spurning of Bryce's advances certainly put a smile on his face as well.

The music fired up again as his earpiece came to life with the voice of John Casey.

" _Hey Bartowski, Von Hayes is at Table 8, grab a bottle of wine and see if you flash on anything._ "

Chuck grabbed a bottle of wine and brought it to the aforementioned table. He stole a glance at Sarah and Bryce as they played the part of a happily married couple dancing a sultry dance. Chuck felt a pang of jealousy – he had been looking forward to dancing with Sarah, he had gotten very good lately and was anxious to show her his skills, but alas, duty calls.

Her timing as perfect as ever, Sarah's voice came across the earpiece. _"You're a little rusty Bryce, what's the matter, can't keep up?"_

" _Would you just let me lead?_ "

" _If you were able to lead you wouldn't have had to ask that. Maybe Chuck should have been my partner after all. At least he could keep up and wouldn't risk blowing the cover_."

The two had this exchange with fake smiles plastered on their faces, and Chuck was able to catch a very minute wink from Sarah as they passed him.

He smiled as he took up his post at Von Hayes' table, pouring wine for each of his guests. Von Hayes was entertaining five lovely women (though, admittedly they couldn't hold a candle to Sarah) and he quickly formed a plan in his head.

As he was pouring the wine, he assessed each of the women, ensuring that they weren't the Fulcrum agent. He turned to the one at the far end of the table first as he refilled her glass.

"I think you will really enjoy this vintage ma'am, it is a 1999 Château Lafite Rothschild,"

Casey came to life in his ear again. " _I've got your back Chuck, good call. I pulled the wine up – ugh, nerd wine. This is right up your alley, repeat this to them_."

"This was one of the finest years available today, as they put extra care into the final vintages of the year due to the fear of the Y2K disaster theory. Very popular with software designers all over the world, an excellent choice if I do say so, Mr. Von Hayes."

Von Hayes glanced at Chuck as he filled his glass.

"Very impressive, Mr…?"

"Carmichael, sir, but everyone calls me Jorge. I am honored to meet you. I am a huge fan; your contributions to the software industry are legendary."

"Well, well Mr. Carmichael, a waiter who knows his wine _and_ his software. I admit, I'm impressed."

"Well Mr. Von Hayes, this is merely a side job at the moment. Wine is my passion but software…well, it's my life."

"You don't say…well, good help is certainly hard to find these days, but I must have an eye for talent." Von Hayes laughed with his guests as Chuck decided to butter him up.

"As well as beauty, sir. I've been to your events before and I must say, these are some of the most stunning women I have ever seen in your company." _Playing wingman for a Fulcrum affiliate…interesting choice Chuck._ Von Hayes appeared to appreciate the attempt as he winked at Chuck and flashed him the 'OK' signal with his hand below the table.

"Why don't you join us, Mr. Carmichael, as I said, good help is hard to find. You've just become personally employed by me."

"That sounds excellent sir; I'll go stock up on bottles and return shortly."

" _Good work, kid. Get your bottles and get back there before the contact shows up. Oh, and don't drop any, those bottles are over a thousand bucks each_."

 _No pressure or anything,_ Chuck thought as he placed several bottles on a tray and headed back to Von Hayes. Sarah and Bryce were just finishing up their dance as the room burst into applause. They ran off towards the blind spot in the cameras, the room assuming they were off to find a private room. As Chuck returned to Von Hayes, he found his former dinner-party had disappeared and was now replaced with a single woman. She was tall, only a few inches shorter than Chuck himself. She was not altogether unattractive, but she had an air of impatience about her.

"Hello Mr. Hayes, do you have my microchip?"

"No…"

"My bosses don't like to wait. Perhaps, we could talk in private." Chuck flashed on her voice as he made it to the table – no name, just one solitary red word next to her picture – 'Fulcrum.'

"Perhaps I should return with some dessert for you and your lovely companion, sir. There are some delectable-looking chocolate covered strawberries at the buffet line by the display _Case_ , if you want some I can be back in _just a flash_." Chuck said, announcing his presence.

" _Copy that Chuck, see if you can get her to turn towards the camera for visual ID._ "

"Who is this? Leave us, this is a private issue." The female agent was becoming agitated, but Von Hayes stepped in.

"This is my personal waiter, Jorge. He can be trusted, why don't you let him grab us some refreshments and bring them to us in my private dining room."

The agent frowned but clearly wanted this over as quickly as possible.

"Fine, just make it quick, Von Hayes. And Waiter…these strawberries had better be large."

"Yes ma'am!" Chuck smiled as he left to grab a plate for his new 'boss.'

"Casey, do you have eyes on the dining room? And what's the status on the Andersons?"

" _Dining room is up and recording, be sure to get in there though in case you can flash on anything else. Walker and the idiot are stuck outside the vault, can't get through the security."_

Chuck had to laugh at Casey referring to Bryce as 'the idiot.' Nice to know he was as annoyed with him as the rest of them were.

"Sarah, do you guys have a manufacturer name on the vault security?"

" _We got this Chuck; this is what real spies are trained for after all._ " Bryce seethed over the radio, apparently not wanting to play nice. Sarah came on now, and Chuck could practically hear her roll her eyes.

" _It says 'Securi-Tech,' that's all I've got. No model number or anything._ "

Chuck began to flash on the name – a flash which was wholly unnecessary as electronics and security systems in particular were his own personal area of expertise.

"Remove the front cover and cut the blue wire followed by the black one. After the door is open you'll have 10 seconds to get across the vault floor and access the main console and enter the factory override code, 8167259."

" _Thanks Chuck, we're in._ "

Chuck heard Casey's annoyed grunt in his earpiece as they both listened to Bryce complain that he almost had it.

As Chuck returned to the dining room he found Von Hayes standing in front of the Fulcrum agent. He was accompanied by a body guard who appeared very bored and thoroughly uninterested.

"You promised us the decrypted chip two weeks ago; instead you're throwing a party."

"What's the point of being rich if you can't have a little fun?" Von Hayes answered as he took another glass of wine from the tray Chuck brought in.

"You have decrypted the information on the chip?"

"Yes, yes, it's all finished. The, uh, question is…Where's my fee?"

"Forget the 15 million," the agent pulled out a silver Glock and delivered a single suppressed shot into the chest of the guard. "I think I'll just take my chip."

She pointed the gun at Chuck who held up his hands.

" _Walker, Larkin, we've got a problem. Fulcrum agent just pulled a gun on Chuck and Von Hayes."_

"I'm unarmed! Please don't shoot me!"

"Shut up, Jorge, I'm not going to shoot you. I need someone to go in front of me and make sure that there are no booby-traps set by this idiot. Now, take me to my chip."

Von Hayes began to panic. "It's in my vault, um, I'll take you right to it!"

He pulled out his keys and chuck flashed on the chip which was on his key ring, beginning to worry as he saw files of all of his friends' cover identities flash before his eyes – everyone, Sarah, Casey, Bryce and even himself.

Chuck spoke up, making sure his comms were activated.

"Look, just take it easy. If I need to go into some Vault, don't I need a key or something? You know, to get this chip for you?" Chuck looked directly into the camera as he said this.

" _Chuck, are you saying he has the chip on his keys? Put your hands on your head if that's what you're saying._ "

Chuck did as Casey said, glad that he picked up his message.

" _Roger that. Walker, Larkin, did you hear that? Von Hayes has the chip on his key chain."_

" _We copy, Casey. Find us a hallway so we can get behind them and get the drop on them."_ Sarah was reading Chuck's mind as usual, and he began to lead the way to the vault. Until, of course, Bryce ruined it.

" _No, Sarah, we know where they are, let's just take them."_

 _"Bryce no, we'll have to get past Chuck and Von Hayes to get to her, there's too many unknowns."_

 _"Walker's right, idiot, listen to her. There's a bedroom through the 3_ _rd_ _door on the left down the hall from the vault, you can hide in there._ "

" _No Casey, I'm going after the chip. All of our covers are on that microchip; if we don't get it then we're all dead."_

 _"Bryce, wait! Casey, Bryce is taking off down the hallway. Chuck, he's on his way to you, see if you can take the agent out of play before he gets there and gets you killed._ "

Chuck cringed as he listened to the heated exchange on the radio. _Damn you, Bryce._ Chuck saw him coming before the fulcrum agent did, and he tried to get behind her but she reacted quicker than he expected, grabbing him as a shield. She dragged him outside as she shot at Bryce, but Chuck couldn't get in a good position to neutralize her.

As they made it outside, Chuck began looking for openings again, until one presented itself in the form of his lovely girlfriend.

"Chuck, get down!"

The Fulcrum agent snapped her head around to look at Sarah and Chuck used the distraction to drop low and sweep her legs out from under her as Sarah opened fire. The agent crumpled in a heap, a fresh bullet wound to her arm. Chuck scrambled over to her and kicked the gun away from her hand, flipping her onto her stomach.

Casey caught up to them and the three stood up and checked each other over for wounds, though admittedly it didn't take long to check Sarah thanks to her large amounts of exposed skin. Casey tossed Chuck a pair of plastic zip-tie handcuffs, but before he could restrain the agent they heard the loud squealing of car tires.

Chuck looked up to see Von Hayes speeding towards them in his yellow Lamborghini with Bryce hanging onto the roof.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me." Casey shouted.

Before Chuck could do anything, the female agent used the distraction to her advantage, and took off running. Suddenly, Bryce rolled off the roof with a sly smile, and pulled something small out of his suit jacket. Chuck squinted and realized it was a detonator at the exact same moment that Sarah yelled, "Run!"

The spies scattered; Chuck was farther away than Sarah was, and he began running towards her to try and pull her out of harm's way. Time slowed to a terrifying crawl as Chuck realized he wasn't going to make it to her in time. Bryce pressed the switch on the detonator and the car exploded, sending Chuck flying backwards.

Chuck laid on the ground stunned for several moments before blinking his eyes open and slowly coming back to reality. He could not remember how he got on the ground; the last thing he remembered, he was cuffing the Fulcrum agent as Sarah walked towards him smiling. _Sarah._ It was as if the last 3 minutes replayed in his brain on fast forward, his heart stopping as he remembered watching Sarah getting blasted by the bomb.

Chuck jumped to his feet and looked around. The yellow Lamborghini was smashed into a nearby telephone pole, engulfed in flames. Casey was getting to his feet, shaking his head like a dog about thirty yards from the wreckage. Sarah was the closest to the car when it blew; she lay in a heap, unmoving a mere fifty feet from the former sports car. Chuck ran to her and put his hand to her neck, checking for a pulse. For a few unbearable moments, Chuck felt nothing at his fingertips. His eyes immediately began to water as Bryce walked up behind him.

"Well, mission accomplished." Bryce said with a smug smile.

Chuck immediately pulled his gun and aimed it at Bryce's head. Bryce frowned as his eyes darted from the gun, to Chuck's arm, to Chuck's other hand and finally to Sarah. The only thing that stopped Chuck from pulling the trigger was the sudden, slow pounding he felt in Sarah's neck. His head whipped around to look at her as her eyes gently fluttered open.

"Ch-Chuck…" Sarah groaned before she shut her eyes again. Casey rushed over and started checking her over, already calling for an ambulance. Knowing that Sarah was now safely watched over in the hands of their partner, Chuck rounded on Bryce, unleashing the full power of his fury.

"What in Holy Hell were you thinking Bryce? 'Mission accomplished?' Are you serious? Were we on the same mission just now? This Goddamn train-wreck you seem to think was a mission almost got all of us killed! Not only that, but you needlessly killed a possible asset, destroyed the chip that we were _supposed_ to recover, and on top of all of that you seem to think you deserve a high-freaking-five right now? I don't know what happened to you Bryce, but you need to knock off this hero-hour bullshit, get your head out of your ass, and quit trying to put the moves on _my_ girlfriend before you kill everyone in L.A. County!"

Chuck pulled out his phone and dialed Beckman's secure line. "This is Agent Bartowski, secure; we have a problem, General. Mission has…well, mission is completely FUBAR*…Agent Larkin happened, that's what. Agent Walker is injured, Von Hayes is dead, and we believe the chip is destroyed. We have an ambulance en route, but we're going to need a cleaner team as well as site security, we will be heading to the hospital. Bartowski out."

Chuck hung up the phone and knelt down next to Sarah.

" _Agent_ Bartowski? And what do you mean your girlfriend Chuck?" Bryce asked, dumbfounded.

Casey stood up now that Chuck was back to focusing on Sarah. Bryce looked towards the hulking spy, thinking he would answer his questions. What he did not expect was the Major's fist flying full-force at his face. After one solid crack, Casey picked him back up by the shirt collar and punched him in the stomach.

"You stupid prick, Larkin. You blew the op and almost kill Walker and your only question is about Bartowski's job and love life? You make me sick. Yes, numb-nuts, Chuck is a full agent now, he just finished his training at The Farm, and you know what? He's already ten times the spy you are, you worthless piece of shit. You better be out of my sight within ten seconds or I swear to Reagan you are dead."

Casey threw Bryce from his grasp and he looked back at Chuck and Sarah before turning and walking away. Bryce fumed as he walked down the road. He had just been put in his place by both the man who once killed him, and by his former roommate and best friend whom he had risked his career to keep safe.

Of course he felt bad that Sarah was injured, but she knew the risks. He accomplished the mission; she would have done the same thing if she was in his shoes. Just because she was too far off the reservation with Chuck to put the mission first doesn't mean that he had to jump on that same bandwagon.

He wasn't quite sure how to react to this new development with Chuck. First of all, he had promised Chuck's dad that he would protect him and keep him out of the Agency, and he had failed. On top of that, he was apparently now dating his ex-girlfriend, which was absolutely horrible tradecraft, as he had found out first hand. It's unprofessional, spies are meant to be alone, they work best alone… _wow, when did I become such a cynic?_

Bryce knew that he had been growing more and more hardened over the last few years – a side effect of working constantly alone – but this was a new low. His ex-girlfriend and former partner was in the hospital because of his actions and his alone and it took him this long to realize that that is not exactly a good thing. On top of that, he was sitting here complaining about professionalism simply because his _best friend_ and his former partner decided to try for some happiness. Why did he seem to think that was such a bad thing? Bryce made a decision right then and there – he had a lot of changes to make in his life, and he knew exactly where to start.

* * *

Chuck was sitting in Sarah's hospital room, holding her hand as her eyes once again fluttered open.

"Hey you," Chuck said with a smile.

"Hey Chuck," Sarah smiled. "What happened?"

"Well, you decided to take a little nap. But don't worry, I brought you a blanket. And, you know, a hospital bed."

Sarah giggled. "How about the truth, this time, Bartowski?"

Chuck told her the full story of what happened, and by the end he had to gently rub her arm up and down to calm her down; she had gotten so pissed off at Bryce that she was setting off the heart monitors as her heart rate skyrocketed.

"Sarah, don't worry about that now, ok? Look, I got you some gardenias, and if you're good and do what the doctors tell you, I may even smuggle a veggie pizza with no olives in here." Chuck winked at her as she smiled.

"I never asked you how you know those are my favorite." She said.

"Well, I have a small secret to tell you," Chuck looked around before he whispered conspiratorially, "I work for the CIA." Chuck laughed at the faux-shocked look that Sarah gave him.

"Thank you, Chuck. For everything." Sarah grabbed his hand as she looked at him.

"You're welcome, Sarah. I will always be here for you. It's going to take a lot more than a bomb and an ex-boyfriend to get rid of me."

"Glad to hear it," Sarah said as Chuck leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

"Ellie said you have a minor concussion, how does your head feel."

"Oh, I'm fine. It's my ego that's hurt more than anything. I don't like to lose." She said.

"We didn't lose, Sar, even though it was a dumbass move, the chip was destroyed, so our covers are safe. You are safe, which is all that matters to me."

"Hey, I thought it was my job to protect you, not the other way around." She asked with raised eyebrows.

"It _used_ to be your job to protect me, Sarah. And even though it isn't _officially_ my job to protect you, I will always do everything in my power to do exactly that." Chuck squeezed her hand as she began to tear-up, whispering something about 'allergies.'

Chuck's phone rang, and he thumbed the speaker button as he saw Beckman's scowling image.

"General, you're on speaker with me and Sarah, we're secure."

"Good, glad you're doing alright Agent Walker. No time for pleasantries unfortunately, I'm afraid I have some bad news. The clean-up team just finished combing through the remains of Von Hayes' car. No evidence of the chip was found."

Chuck looked at Sarah with his eyebrows raised before he spoke, "General, that isn't overly surprising. The car was fully involved before the fire department arrived; the components of a standard microchip wouldn't hold up to that heat."

"If we were talking about a standard chip that would be true, however this chip is state of the art. It is made using titanium and other experimental components, and it was being designed to replace the black boxes on aircraft as well as stand up to the rigors of military and espionage work. Even if the chip didn't survive, there should have been _some_ evidence of its existence. In addition, we are beginning to suspect that the victim in the car was not actually Von Hayes, but we cannot know that until the autopsy is complete. For now, remain on high alert and await further instructions." Beckman's phone clicked and Chuck and Sarah sat in silence.

Before they could say anything, the door opened and Ellie walked in.

"Hey guys, glad to see you're awake Sarah! Maybe now my little brother will actually go home and get some sleep, he hasn't left your side since you've gotten here." She said sternly.

"Ellie, she's only been here for three hours, it's not like I've been awake for days." He rolled his eyes and laid his hand on Sarah's shoulder.

"I just came to see how you guys are doing. Oh, and someone sent you some flowers, I'll have Devon bring them up."

"Thanks Ellie, see you tomorrow for dinner." Sarah said as Ellie left the room.

Devon brought the flowers a few minutes later, and Chuck and Sarah spent a few minutes placing bets with each other to decide if the flowers were from Casey or Bryce. When they had each selected they're candidate they finally read the card.

 _Let's meet in private, 310-555-0187_

"Ha! Told you it was from Bryce, I'm calling him!" Chuck exclaimed.

Before Sarah could stop him, he dialed the number and laughed as the other end of the line clicked to life.

"Bryce, we definitely need to meet in private, I can't wait!" Chuck began making kissing noises and laughed until Sarah hit him, rolling her eyes at his antics. He was certainly in a much better mood and a lot more relaxed towards Bryce now that Sarah was awake. They both became instantly alert as they heard a British accent on the other end of the line instead of Bryce's.

* * *

A few hours later Chuck was sitting in a train station, a bag with 4.5 million dollars at his feet. Bryce said directly behind him and Casey sat across the room, reading the newspaper. They were waiting for Von Hayes to show up with the microchip, though they had no intention of allowing him to leave with that much money after everything that had happened. Chuck's reflection was soon interrupted by Bryce.

"So Chuck, you decided to become an agent…and shack up with my ex. What happened to the bro code?"

"You know Bryce, the bro code kind of went out the window when you got me expelled, slept with _my_ ex, and sent a stolen computer to my brain. It's clause 19 of the code, if I remember correctly." Chuck said with a sly grin. Despite everything that happened, it was nice to joke with Bryce again.

"Hmm, point well taken. Look, for what it's worth, I never slept with Jill. She approached me, but I turned her down. She did not take it well. You know now why I got you kicked out and it killed me to do it but I was trying to keep you safe. As for everything else…I'm sorry, Chuck. These last few years have been hell, and I've…well, I've become a jaded asshole. I'm still the same guy that you became friends with six years ago; it's just taken some help for me to remember that. I'm proud of you for making the choice to go through training, you're good at this. And…I'm happy for you and Sarah, really. You two are perfect for each other and God knows I didn't treat her right, not as right as she deserves. She's a great girl, Chuck, and you two really do deserve each other. Take care of her, okay?"

Chuck smiled more fully. "Always, Bryce. Nothing and no one means more to me than she does. I…I love her." Chuck swallowed. "That's the first time I've told anyone that, Bryce…feels pretty good to say it out loud."

Bryce's reply was interrupted as Von Hayes entered the train station. Chuck stood up and made eye contact, walking over to meet him so he was positioned just in front of Casey.

"Did you bring the cash?" Von Hayes asked with a nervous glance.

"What do you think I have in the bag, kittens?" Chuck asked. "Where's the microchip?"

Von Hayes held his fingers up, displaying the dangling microchip.

"I've never done a hand off before; I'm not use to all this spy stuff." He said.

"It's a little stressful isn't it?" Chuck asked with an understanding laugh. "I give you the cash, you hand me the microchip. No screwing around or it won't end well for you, Von Hayes."

Von Hayes glanced around again as Chuck laid the duffle at his feet. As he was handing Chuck the microchip, he looked behind him and counted three men that were watching them very intently. He looked below to see the telltale bulge of a gun in the man's waistband. Chuck grabbed the microchip and pushed Von Hayes back into Casey.

"Casey, gun!" Chuck yelled, pulling his own as Bryce and Casey leapt to their feet. The four men pulled their guns, and Bryce turned towards Chuck who assumed Bryce had seen more agents standing behind him.

The first agent that Chuck had noticed pulled his gun forward and squeezed off a shot, sending the crow into a panic. The shot barely missed Chuck, and he quickly returned fire before his field was blocked by scrambling bystanders. The first gunman fell as Casey forced Von Hayes to the ground, throwing him in a pair of cuffs before standing back up and holding his gun on one of the other gunmen. Chuck shifted his aim to the other gunman that he could see who raised his hands above his head, his gun held limply by the trigger guard.

"Clear!" Chuck yelled, as Casey and Bryce echoed him. The three moved towards their targets and put them in cuffs. They corralled the gunmen into the middle of the room, and Casey left to call the cleaner team where he could get a better signal on his cell phone. As Bryce was beginning to question them, the female agent from last night burst from the shadows, holding him as a human shield.

"Give me the microchip or he dies!" She yelled. Chuck raised his gun quickly, aiming at her but it was a risky shot. He was fully confident that he could get it, but if Bryce flinched or tried any heroics he could mess it up completely. As he was debating the risks, he saw a familiar glint of golden hair as Sarah turned the corner and raised her own weapon. Chuck put his down, appearing to give up.

"Let him go, and I'll give you the chip." He needed to keep talking to give Sarah time to line up a shot that wouldn't go through the agent and hit Bryce.

"Fine, bring it to me." The agent said.

Chuck looked once more to Sarah who smiled. "You got it?" He asked.

"Yep. I got it." Sarah squeezed the trigger of her Smith & Wesson, effectively ending the Agent's life and saving Bryce.

After making sure Bryce was ok, Chuck ran over to Sarah and hugged her.

"What are you doing out of bed?" He asked.

"Well, my Doctor decided on a more aggressive treatment program that I originally thought." Sarah stated simply, using that handy little metaphor to avoid telling Chuck about the murder attempt quite yet.

Chuck frowned, knowing that Sarah was keeping something from him but he ignored it. He trusted her to tell him whatever it was when she was ready. For now, he just grabbed her hand and began walking outside.

"I have a surprise for you tonight, Chuck. Be ready to go by 8, wear your tux."

Chuck cocked his eyebrow and looked sideways at his girlfriend. She hated surprises, so this must be pretty good. He smiled and kissed her on the side of the head as they walked out of the train station. "Yes, dear."

* * *

 _2030 hours, that night._

"Sarah, we're surrounded."

"Good. Let them watch, Chuck." Sarah took hold of Chuck's hand and looked him meaningfully in the eye. "Trust me, Chuck."

Chuck smiled as he looked back at her. "Always, Sarah." His nervousness gone, Chuck prepared to fight his way through their surroundings with Sarah by his side. He grabbed hold of her as the music began and smiled, beginning the dance.

Sarah had taken him to a ritzy dinner club in Beverly Hills, wearing the same dress she had the night before with Bryce. She had felt bad that Chuck missed out on his night of good food and dancing that he had been looking forward to, so she insisted they go out tonight. As the music sped up, Chuck took her breath away. He was swinging and dipping her with such fevered passion that she couldn't help but put her heart and soul into this dance with him. Chuck was a better dancer than Bryce by far, and he meant so much more to her, making this experience absolutely incredible despite the many dances she had shared before it.

As the music drew to a peppy end, she was completely out of breath. Chuck dipped her one last time and quickly whipped her back up to meet him, his hand pressed against her lower back as he pulled her into a swift, passionate kiss that left her even more breathless than before. As their lips separated, Chuck was breathing just as heavily as she was and he leaned his forehead against hers.

"I love you," he whispered.

Sarah froze. She knew how she felt about him, knew that she loved him too…but to actually say it? It had been so long since she had let another person in, let alone said those words to anyone. She wasn't sure what to do; she wanted to tell him so bad but getting her mouth to cooperate with her brain was difficult and what was more than that, if she said the wrong thing Chuck was likely to spiral out of control, much like she was now. She was spared more worrying by her always-thoughtful Chuck, however.

"Sarah, don't freak out. You don't have to say it back if you aren't ready, I don't want to rush you. But I've felt it for a long time, and it's time you knew too."

Sarah smiled and simply kissed him. When they broke apart she was finally able to speak.

"Chuck, just know that just because I'm not ready to say it yet…it doesn't mean I feel any differently than you do."

Chuck smiled a huge Chuck-Bartowsi-Smile. "I know Sarah. Let's go for a walk. And, just one more time because it feels really good to say it…I love you."

The couple walked out of the restaurant and into the night, never allowing more than a few inches between them.

* * *

 *** FUBAR: Military slang, means F*d Up Beyond All Repair.**


	7. Chapter 7 Casey vs the Ladyfeelings

**A/N: I decided to update early this week. This may be the only update this week, unfortunately, and it may be spotty for the next month, but very soon I will be free and clear to write a whole lot again. This week is finals for my medic program, day one is today and day two is Wednesday, then I have another month full of hours and hours of ride time on the rig, so I'm going to be awfully busy. At the very least I will still be posting at least once a week though, but I think I will still be ok for the bi-weekly updates. Ok, I've rambled on enough. As usual, thanks so much for all your kind reviews and support, I couldn't do this without you guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Chuck or any other trademarked material. I do own a coffee pot however, which is worth it's weight in gold..which admittedly isn't much.**

* * *

Chapter 7

Casey vs. the Ladyfeelings

Chuck was putting the finishing touches on the network for this year's Bioscience Conference.

"So, a Bioscience Conference…I'll be these things get pretty wild, huh? Alright, the network should now be all set up with ten-based T Ethernet connecting all the servers for the conference with a firewall in place." Chuck paused as he caught sight of something unbelievable yet completely unwanted – his ex-girlfriend Jill had just turned the corner, and worse she had seen him. Chuck wasn't sure what to do; on the one hand he wanted to walk straight up to her and punch her but unfortunately his family had raised him to never hit a woman. On the other hand, he wanted to simply walk away – not hide or run, he was no coward; he simply wanted nothing to do with her and he did not want to give her the time of day. Jill, however, made his choice for him as she walked directly up to him.

She smiled a large smile at him. "Chuck, Chuck Bartowski?"

Chuck frowned. "Present! Yes, that's me!" _Smooth, Bartowski._

"It's me, Jill!" She was far too excited for this encounter.

"Jill! Oh my gosh, of course! Hi." Chuck put on a fake air of excitement as he awkwardly hugged his ex. In addition to the spiraling depression she had sent him into for five years, he now knew that she had completely and utterly betrayed him by trying to sleep with Bryce. For all this time, he had assumed Bryce was the one at fault; maybe he had fed her some story and swept her off her feet, comforting her when she found out her boyfriend was a cheat and that was the reason Jill slept with him. Now he knew better; he knew that at the drop of a hat she went running to Bryce and attempted to get him to betray his friend once again – a betrayal he now knew never took place.

"So good to see you," Chuck said without an ounce of conviction.

"You too, how long has it been?"

Chuck barely stopped himself from laughing. She really couldn't care less about what happened, could she?

"Oh, about five years, four months-ish," He was a little angry at himself for remembering that detail, but it was hard to forget something that had consumed him for so long, despite his recent developments with Sarah. "You know, give or take. Kind of in that neighborhood. So what have you been up to?"

"Uh, well after Stanford, I got my PhD in biomedical engineering. I'm actually giving a presentation at the conference on infectious diseases. And you?" She said this with a very smug attitude, or maybe it just seemed that way to Chuck due to his anger.

"And me…um," Chuck paused to think about the true answer. _Oh you know, typical post-graduate story. After getting expelled I spent four miserable years working as a low-level supervisor of a computer repair desk in an electronics store before my former roommate zapped a computer into my brain. Now I'm a CIA spy and you know, I save the world one or twice a week, no big deal._ Chuck smirked at the story in his head.

"Uh, still in the computer game, you know? Yeah, I work slash own my own little, little-little company. Sixteen, seventeen – I can't remember which – stores." Chuck regretted the sentence almost as soon as he said it. Why did he still feel the need to impress her? "But every once in a while I like to do the installs myself, you know, don the uni, kind of get my hands mussy."

Jill smiled a genuine smile. "I'm really happy for you, Chuck. The last time I saw you, you were working at a Buy More."

"Ah, that was a wonderful growing experience. Really, really character building, and I wouldn't change it for the…for the world."

"Well there's definitely some things that I would change. Especially about us." Jill said with a sad look.

Chuck was spared the necessity of a response as a middle-aged gentleman walked up to them.

"There you are, we're running late!" The man said, looking at his watch for emphasis.

"Oh, Guy, this is my old friend, Chuck Bartowski," she said.

 _Friend, really Jill?_ Chuck thought angrily.

"Chuck, this is my boss Guy LaFleur."

"Hi, nice to meet you!" Chuck said, always the social butterfly.

LaFleur held up his hands. "I work with germs, so, you know."

Chuck bit back his response as he made eye contact with the man for the first time, slipping into a flash, images of multiple dangerous chemicals, dead bodies, and the man standing before him rushing through his vision.

Chuck swallowed as LaFleur spoke again, "I'm sure your friend's busy. He has, uh, computers to fix." LaFleur clearly didn't regard Chuck in very high esteem.

Chuck reached for his cell phone to call Sarah and Casey as Jill came back to him. "Chuck, I'm staying at the Hotel Waldron, so give me a call if you want to grab a cup of coffee."

Chuck just nodded and waved as he finished dialing Sarah's number.

"Hi Chuck, miss me already?" Sarah said with an amused chuckle.

"You have no idea, Sarah, but unfortunately you're not going to be happy with this call."

"Spill it, Bartowski." _Uh-oh, she sounds pissed already._

"Well…I sort of just ran into Jill Roberts…and flashed on her boss." Chuck said cautiously.

"What do you mean, 'ran into?' Never mind, get your butt to Castle, we'll talk about this then."

 _Oh yea, definitely pissed._

* * *

"Your ex-girlfriend's boss, Guy LaFleur, is the head research scientist for the European company Cole-MacGregor Pharmaceuticals." Chuck was sitting in Castle with Casey and Sarah, the latter of which kept shooting seething glances his way. "MI-6 has reports that he may have developed a bioweapon which he plans to sell to highest bidder."

"Is Jill involved?" Chuck asked, a small glimmer of hope creeping its way into his voice as he fantasized about putting Jill into handcuffs – _in a non-sexual way,_ Chuck hastily added as if Sarah could read his thoughts.

"It's your job to find out, Chuck. Casey and Sarah will surveil Dr. LaFleur, and we need you to reconnect with Jill; find out what she knows about LaFleur."

To say Chuck was unhappy would be an understatement. "Right-right-right-right. When you say 'reconnect,' you mean send her an email, or make her my new Facebook friend…right?" Chuck knew this was not what she meant, but he was hoping he could talk her out of it.

"No, Chuck, but nice try." The General was clearly not amused. "Call her at her hotel and make a date. See if you flash on anything she says or anyone you meet. Good luck," with that, the screen went black and Chuck was left with his assignment and a very angry girlfriend.

When Chuck finally convinced himself to look at Sarah, he was surprised to see a look of sad thoughtfulness rather than anger.

"Look, Chuck, I know she broke your heart, but maybe seeing her again will bring you the closure that you've always wanted. You've done a lot for the CIA, and we're going to make you look good." Sarah was standing in front of Chuck as she said this with a slight frown on her face. Chuck reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear before taking both of her hands in his own.

"Sarah, I don't need closure. I have you; there is nothing more that I need." Chuck emphasized his point with a soft kiss to her forehead. Sarah closed her eyes as a smile graced her features.

"There's the silver lining I was looking for. Look Chuck, I obviously trust you. Take this mission as a blessing – if you get closure then great but if not, you're still doing your job. It's a win-win. And I'll be there every step of the way."

Chuck smiled as he kissed Sarah again. He still didn't feel great about this idea – and frankly the thought of his current girlfriend watching his date with his ex-girlfriend like a hawk did not exactly comfort him, but he couldn't let her know that.

* * *

Chuck pulled up to the restaurant in his Camaro, and he got out to open Jill's door for her. He may hate her, but he was still a gentleman. Sarah smiled as she watched this encounter, knowing what must be going through Chuck's head right now.

He walked in the door and was greeted by a heavily disguised Casey using a really horrible yet comical accent.

"Hey, Mr. Bartowski, welcome." Casey clapped Chuck on the shoulder and directed them towards their table. "Hope you haven't been waiting long, right this way."

Chuck was berated by a number of 'hello's' and other greetings on the way to their table. Clearly the CIA had pulled out all the stops to help him impress his ex.

"Well, I'm impressed," Jill said. "It's like you own the place."

"Oh well, not own, just an investor." Chuck said suavely. Sarah chose then to make her entrance to the table.

"Good evening, Mr. Bartowski." She said with a smile as she handed them menus. "Can I get you two anything to drink, the usual perhaps? A 2000 Les Fiefs de Legrange." Sarah pursed her lips adorably as she looked into Chuck's eyes, despite her pep talk earlier she couldn't help but remind him just who he belonged to – as if he needed the reminder.

"I'm really glad things turned out so well for you, Chuck." Jill said. "Especially after, you know, what happened."

"Yeah well, about that…" Chuck paused, unsure how to continue. He really wanted to tell her exactly where she could stick her sentiments, but that would not bode well for the mission. "That's water under the bridge at this point." Chuck raised his glass of wine that Sarah had just poured. "Forget the past, this is to the here and now," Chuck said in a toast, but as he said it he looked over Jill's shoulder and directly into Sarah's eyes. They drank to the toast and placed their orders.

"So, you never told me what exactly it is you were working on," he said.

"Oh, well, I can't really talk about it." Jill shifted in her chair uncomfortably. "That sounds mysterious, I know. I'm starting to think there are some sketchy people involved, but I'm probably just being paranoid. I just…I don't know who to trust."

"Ah, so you're into the super-secret CIA branch of bioengineering, I see," Chuck said with a laugh. "But in all seriousness…you can trust me." Chuck said with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Jill considered him for a moment before glancing around the restaurant. "Remember Bio-Chem?" She asked as Chuck nodded. "We're working on a strain of influenza, specifically how the hemagglutinin fuses the viral envelope with the vacuole's membrane. Did that sound like total gibberish?" She asked.

"No, not at all, I understood completely 'Do you remember Bio-Chem?' and then everything after that is a little fuzzy." Chuck said, making Jill laugh.

"Okay, I'll simplify. Basically we've been looking at an antiviral serum for a strain of influenza used in a bioweapon, an airborne form of influenza so deadly that it could kill a person within one hour if exposed. My boss learned that our company secretly sells the influenza bioweapon. We're going to present our findings at the conference this weekend so the company can't cover it up anymore." Jill finished and took a sip of her wine. "I know, like I said, it's pretty shady."

"Jill, shady is the biggest understatement I have heard in a while." Chuck said. He couldn't believe what he'd heard and by the look on Sarah's and Casey's faces, they couldn't either.

" _Good work Chuck, you can wrap it up when you're ready."_ Casey said in Chuck's ear, the first one to recover.

"Jill, this is huge. Thank you for trusting me with it. What do you say we get out of here and go get some dessert or something?" Chuck said, having finished their meals a while ago.

"Dessert sounds great, Chuck, but why don't we go back to my hotel? The room service there has excellent selections." Chuck swallowed as she said this, expecting a throwing knife to embed itself in Jill's torso at any moment.

" _Nice going there, stallion. Accept the offer and see if you can bug her phone._ " Casey said again.

 _Shit Casey, are you trying to get everyone here killed?_ Chuck wondered.

"That sounds great, Jill, let's go." Chuck said, standing up and walking around to pull her chair out for her. The two walked out of the restaurant arm in arm as the valet brought his Camaro around. Chuck ducked down as he helped Jill into the car, hiding as he noticed a Nerd Herder drive past and almost blow his cover.

* * *

Two hours later, Chuck leaned against the wall next to Jill's hotel room and closed his eyes. He had barely made it out of the room, saying something about taking things slow in order to get out of staying the night with Jill. He had bugged her phone and was heading downstairs to his Camaro where Sarah was already sitting in the passenger seat. He had barely gotten the door closed as she attacked him, her lips fervently locked onto his.

"Ugh, tastes like slutty ex-girlfriend." Sarah said, faking spitting noises. "Open," she ordered. Chuck did as he was told and she sprayed some breath spray into his mouth.

Chuck jumped. "That better be normal spray and not knock-out!" He yelled.

"Chuck, if it was knock-out spray first of all, you'd be out already, and second of all I would have been in the driver's seat so I didn't have to drag you around." Sarah said, rolling her eyes.

"Good point," Chuck said with a smile before leaning in and kissing her again. "To what do I owe this particular pleasure?" He asked.

"First and foremost it was to remind you just who you belong to and whose bed you'll be in tonight. But second, we need to talk about this phone call we just intercepted from Jill's room. Sarah pressed play on her phone, and Jill's voice came out of the speakers.

"The date went well, Shari, Chuck is just as charming as he ever has been."

"Well, he was only charming at first, he turned into kind of a loser when you broke up with him." A second female voice answered.

"Shari, he isn't a loser and never was, don't be mean to the guy. He's been through enough, just give him a break. I'm going to invite him to the speech tomorrow, I think he'd enjoy seeing my work firsthand."

"If you say so, Jill. I'm sure he'll enjoy the speech and the demonstration." The voice said again.

"I'm sure he will. Have a good night, Shari. See you tomorrow!" Jill said cheerfully as she hung up the phone.

Sarah looked at him at frowned at the confused look on his face. "We believe she was talking to her friend Shari from college, that's the only Shari we have any record of her having involvement with."

"No, that's wrong…I mean, you're right, but that's not Shari's voice. I remember her, she was a coldhearted, bi-um, woman. She was not exactly kind to me when I tried to straighten things out with Jill after the initial break-up. But that is definitely not her voice on the other end of the phone." Chuck finished.

"Well, that gives some strength to our theory, then," Sarah said. "There is nothing in the program about there being a demonstration along with LaFleur's speech." Sarah said with a frown. "We think it may be a code. Casey and I have surveillance on LaFleur's room, do you want to join us?" Sarah asked with a grin.

"Yeah, wouldn't miss it," Chuck said with a smile. "Let's go grab some food and then meet up with him."

The two drove a few blocks over to a fast food place and picked up a few burgers in the drive-thru, Chuck ordering one with extra pickles for Sarah. She smiled at how well he knew her even though she hadn't been as open with him as she should have been yet. She leaned over and kissed him.

"Thank-you," She said with a sad smile.

"Sarah, it's just a burger, it costs like two-bucks. I can afford these things now." He said with a sarcastic smile.

"That's not what I mean, dork." She said. "Thank-you for being you…for knowing me as well as you do. I'm sorry I haven't let you all the way in yet. I promise you I'm not doing it on purpose, and I will let you in…it's just going to take me some time."

"I know Sarah, and it's okay, really. Yes, I want to know everything there is to know about you, but like I said after your reunion, I know who you are and that is what really matters. I love you, don't you forget it." Chuck said as he leaned in and kissed her again.

Ten minutes later they were sitting in the surveillance van, eating their food and watching the screens. Something had been bothering Chuck as he ate in silence. Sarah and Casey had both noticed – they had never heard him this quiet on a stakeout before.

"What is it, Bartowski?" Casey asked.

"Something doesn't fit…I've never done an install at that convention center, or for anyone related to it. Why do they request me, of all people, on the exact day and the exact time that my ex is walking through the place? It just doesn't fit…" Chuck trailed off as he looked over Casey's shoulder and fell into a flash as he saw the tattoo on the monitor.

"Oh crap, assassin! Code-name: Wolf Den, very high body count!" Chuck said as he came out of it.

"11 – That's Guy's floor. Let's go!" Casey said.

The three spies scrambled out of the van, checking their guns as they ran into the building. They rode the elevator up to the 11th floor, far too slow for any of their likings. As the doors opened on 11, they ran to LaFleur's room. Sarah tried her master key-card that she lifted from the manager earlier but the door was bolted with a chain. They stood back as Casey used his God-given gift and kicked in the door with all his strength. They quickly split up and checked every possible hiding spot, Sarah taking the closet, Casey the other side of the bed, and Chuck took the bathroom. Their shouts of "Clear!" rang out as they looked at each other.

"Where's Guy?" Sarah asked as a breeze caused the curtain to flutter. Chuck walked over and pulled it open, revealing a large hole in the glass. He looked down to see Guy's body slowly sliding down the front of their surveillance van.

"Found him…what's left, anyway." Chuck said.

* * *

An hour later, Chuck got a frantic phone call from Jill. After calming her down, he convinced her that everything was ok, and luckily was able to use the murder scene to get out of having to go to her hotel room because only hotel guests were allowed on the premises at the moment. He promised that he would be at her presentation tomorrow and hung up the phone. Now that things had settled down, he was back to wondering about the peculiar nature of the Nerd Herd install that began this whole debacle.

He got into his Camaro with Sarah and drove to the Buy More, using his card to get in the employee entrance and head to the Nerd Herd desk.

"You know, the place is empty, and we never have used the Home Theater Room for what it is everyone assumes we've used it for during briefings." Sarah said with a soft tone of voice.

"Hmm, give me five minutes and I am so there," Chuck said, hitting Sarah with the eyebrow dance. He pulled the work order for the conference and looked at the details.

"I knew it!" He yelled. Sarah looked at him, confused. "You know, Jill sure was surprised to run into me at the conference…considering she's the one that called and requested me." Chuck said with a smirk. He knew something didn't feel right, and now he knew why. The only thing he didn't know is what Jill was up to.

"Jill is up to something, we need to figure out what." Sarah said.

"Well, whatever it is, it can wait until the morning. We have a surveillance team on her for tonight, and we know she has some unscripted demonstration planned for tomorrow, so I'm sure we can wait until then. For now, I believe you proposed a date, my dear." Chuck said as he led her by the hand to the Home Theater Room.

* * *

The next day, Chuck was sitting in the audience for Jill's presentation. She was in the midst of saying quite a few things that were far over his head, despite the fact that he had done quite well in Bio-Chem when he was in Stanford. Six years of doing nothing with the knowledge, however, effectively wiped it from his brain. Sarah and Casey were sitting at different spots in the audience, giving them a wider view of their surroundings.

As Jill droned on with her presentation, Chuck saw movement out of the corner of his eye. A man with shoulder length hair, glasses and a thin mustache suddenly stood up from his chair and began walking away. Chuck stood up just as Casey and Sarah did the same. Sarah took off after the man as Casey and Chuck went to his chair with guns drawn, kicking it over and revealing a canister that began hissing out some type of fumes.

"Well, I guess we know what the 'demonstration' is, don't we Bartowski? Seal the room!" Casey yelled into his watch. The doors slammed as pre-positioned agents began swarming the conference center, establishing a perimeter.

"Sarah, Casey and I are locked in the conference room, you're on your own till the back-up team gets there, be careful." Chuck said into his watch before turning to the room at large. He lowered his gun and pulled out his badge.

"Ladies and Gentleman, this is an emergency situation. My name is detective Charles Carmichael with the LAPD; no one can leave the room!"

Jill frantically ran up to Chuck. "Chuck, what the hell is going on? You're a detective? And why did you call yourself Carmichael?"

"Jill, I can't explain everything to you. After Stanford, I went to work for the LAPD; I work undercover quite a bit so I use a codename to keep my family safe." Chuck said, making a story up on the fly.

Jill nodded as if this made complete sense, and then began trying to figure out what to do.

"This is the influenza strain, I'm sure of it, they're trying to silence me just like they did Guy. We need to make an antiviral serum or we're all dead, but I need some equipment!"

"Don't worry, I have everything you need in the closet over there. When you told me about your company I talked to my bosses and we took some precautions just in case."

Chuck walked over to the closet and pulled out a large black case. He went to work, injecting himself with a small dose of the influenza strain. Jill probably could have done this a lot quicker, but he did not trust her after the things that came to light last night. He sat down at a nearby chair as Casey spoke to the people in the audience to calm them.

"It'll take fifteen minutes for my body to circulate enough antibodies for us to get a working cure, so we have a few minutes." He said as Jill sat down next to him.

"So…I suppose you did pay attention in Bio-Chem after all." She said.

"Yeah, I did. And the crash course in weapons of mass destruction at the training academy helped too." Chuck said with a chuckle. He was disgusted with himself that he had to be nice to this liar right now, but he couldn't let her know that he was onto her. He was saved any more pleasantries as Casey walked up to him.

"Walker took care of the assassin, he's de-uh, in custody." He said, barely catching his slip and keeping up Chuck's hastily made cover. "HazMat teams will be here within 15 minutes. Once you're done with the serum we're going to run everything through a decon line, just to be safe."

"Ok, Case, thanks." Chuck was relieved to hear Sarah was ok – not that he doubted her. He just really hated the idea of her being on her own, even though he knew she could handle herself. His phone rang, and Sarah's smiling face greeted him from his phone.

"Excuse me, Jill. It's my boss, I have to take this." Chuck walked away and answered his phone.

"So I'm your boss now?" Sarah asked with a laugh. "I like the sound of that. Does this mean you have to follow _all_ of my orders?" Sarah asked, suggestively.

"Sarah, how'd you hear that? You aren't in here right now, are you?" Chuck asked, concerned.

"I could hear you through your watch, just figured an LAPD detective probably wouldn't have watch communicator, so I spared you the trouble of another cover story for talking into your wrist like a crazy guy."

"Well you know what they say, Sarah. Happy wife, happy life – well, girlfriend in this case but that doesn't rhyme as well. Any problems with the assassin?" He asked.

"Other than he messed up my skirt, no. How are you holding up?"

"Oh, just fine. Starting to sweat a little but the dysentery and vomiting haven't set in yet, so I figured we could chalk that up as a win."

"Chuck, that's disgusting. You better get your cure finished before either of those set in or you're sleeping on the floor tonight, at Buy More, in a different state." She said.

"Thanks, dear. Glad you're here for me in my time of need." Chuck said, feigning a tone of hurt in his voice.

"Get it done, Chuck. Be safe."

"I will, Sarah. I love you." Chuck said before he hung up the phone.

Sarah hit the end button on her phone and held it to her forehead with her eyes closed.

"I love you too, Chuck." She whispered with no one around to hear. _Coward_. She thought.

Back in the conference room, chuck walked back over to the case. He handed Casey the syringe and had him slide the needle into his vein and draw a pretty alarmingly large amount of blood. Chuck swallowed but said nothing thanks to his resolve being hardened by his recent training. Casey dispensed the blood into the included centrifuge and began separating the blood. After thirty minutes of work, He handed Chuck a multi-dose vial and a handful of syringes.

"Each person gets 1 milliliter each, single shot in the side of the arm." Casey said as he grabbed his own handful of syringes.

"Got it, Casey."

The two set around the room, injecting each of the infected audience members with the antiviral. After everyone had been taken care of, the two shook hands and lined everyone up to double check everyone had received the injection.

"We're all clear, coming out." Casey said into his watch when Jill wasn't looking. They opened the doors and walked out to the surprising sound of applause. A huge crowd of emergency responders, reporters and bystanders had gathered and all were clapping and cheering as the fire department HazMat team began leading people to an inflatable tent to be decontaminated further. Chuck locked eyes with Sarah who was standing at the front of the crowd, but couldn't hug her yet in case he still carried the virus on his clothes. Unfortunately, this left the field clear for Jill who ran up to him.

"Chuck! You're amazing!" Jill jumped up and kissed him. He reluctantly returned the kiss before breaking it apart and hugging her, looking over her shoulder and Sarah at whom he rolled his eyes and mouthed 'I'm sorry' with as much conviction as he could pour into the silent plea. Sarah was clearly pissed but to her credit did not shoot him or Jill on the spot. Instead she turned on the spot and spoke into her watch.

" _If I hadn't practically pushed you into this reunion date, you would be in so much trouble right now. You'd better not be enjoying this or so help me you're cut off, Chuck, for at least two weeks."_

Chuck flinched as he continued to hold Jill before they headed to the Decon line. Chuck thanked whoever was watching over him that there was a separate tent for males and females – he did not need _that_ particular complication right now.

* * *

Chuck was standing outside the Opera House with the Fulcrum flash drive. He had been enduring a fake relationship with Jill for the last week – which had been becoming increasingly nauseating since he knew she was lying to him. This long week had culminated in Jill being kidnapped – likely by her own team – and taken to the very Opera House where they had found the drive in the first place. He had made a copy of the drive which was still downloading itself to the computers in Castle, and Casey and Sarah were moving around to the upper level to provide back up.

" _Sniper on the Balcony, Chuck. I'll take him out after you make contact."_ Sarah said in his ear.

"Roger that, Sarah." Chuck walked inside and into the main auditorium. He walked up to the stage calmly and the agent came around the corner, holding Jill as a human shield.

"Chuck!" Jill yelled.

"You've seen mine, now show me yours." The agent said.

"First, I need to know that she's going to be safe." Chuck said.

"That's not how this works. Hand over the list, or I shoot you both."

"That's not how this works either!" A gruff voice said as Casey came out from behind the stage, getting into position behind the agent and Jill.

"So you have a friend, I still have a sharpshooter trained on you." The agent said, and Sarah chose that moment to burst out from the hallway and take out the sharpshooter. Sarah cocked the action and laid the rifle back on the balcony, taking aim on the agent and Jill.

"Well, looks like we own the sniper now. Any other tricks you want me to outsmart, or are you just going to drop the gun now?"

"Somebody give me the list or I shoot the girl!" The agent was getting desperate, but Chuck was still convinced this agent was working with Jill.

Suddenly the Mexican Hat Dance began playing from Chuck's pocket as his phone rang. Chuck held up a quick finger towards the agent.

"I'm sorry, that's so rude of me! Just one second," Chuck said sarcastically. He answered the phone when he saw Beckman on the screen.

"Yes, ma'am?" Chuck said.

"Chuck, the chip just finished downloading into the computer and decrypting. Jill Roberts is a Fulcrum spy. Arrest or eliminate her, but do not let her leave that theater under her own power." Chuck ended the call and stood stunned for a few moments. He knew Jill was lying to him and that this was eventually going to be necessary, but he had never expected that she'd be working for _Fulcrum_. He didn't know how to react to this news, but decided he would sort his feelings out later. He pulled his own gun and aimed it directly at Jill.

"Why don't you drop your weapon and put your hands in the air. I know you both work for Fulcrum." Chuck said. Casey looked at him with surprise on his face before gaining control of his features once more. The Fulcrum agent appeared to think things over before aiming his gun at Chuck, pushing Jill away from him to get a clearer shot. He never got the chance to attempt anything as his head exploded. Chuck looked at Casey who nodded his head up and behind him. Chuck turned to see a light plume of smoke rising from the barrel of Sarah's sniper.

Chuck and Casey walked over to Jill, their guns still pointed at her. She put her hands in the air and Casey handed Chuck his pair of cuffs.

"I think you've earned this one, Bartowski." Casey said with a growl.

Chuck walked around behind her and grabbed her arms roughly behind her back.

"Chuck, don't do this. I love you." She said, desperately.

"Save it, Jill. You had your chance a long time ago, and you know what? I'd say this is some poetic justice. Besides betraying me, you betrayed your country; you chose the wrong side and you lost, so now you can just sit there, shut up, and bask in the glory of your choices. For what it's worth, I did love you at one point. But not anymore…not for a long, long time."

Chuck hauled her to her feet and handed her to Casey who marched her out of the theater. Sarah walked up to him and hugged him, and he kissed her on the head.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Well, still a little shocked…but yeah, I'm good. I have you, how could I not be?" He asked. Sarah smiled and kissed him before walking out of the theater with him hand in hand. Casey was waiting in the lobby.

"Ugh, are we done yet? A week's worth of missions centered on Bartowski's love life…it's a wonder I haven't shot myself yet. Or him." Casey growled as they walked passed him but his growl softened to a low rumble as he happily watched his two partners – though he would never reveal that he was 'happily' watching anyone.


	8. Chapter 8 Chuck vs the Gift

**A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back. Finished and passed all my finals, and moved to a new apartment, but still going to be a while till I'm back to updating regularly. The good news is, I have mapped out where I'm going for the next several chapters and I have some pretty exciting ideas for where I want to go after that, and needless to say I am pretty pumped for those. Thanks again to all of you for reading, and for your awesome reviews, you really have made a really terrible week quite a bit better! Some things to look forward to in the next few chapters: Mass Effect references, some bonding with Casey, Chuck has a few arguments, and eventually Casey has an unfortunate run-in with a diaper. Stay tuned for all this fun and more! As always, your reviews are appreciated, and I hope everyone enjoys. This chapter is fairly short, but I promise I will be making up for it in the next few!**

 **I do not own Chuck, but if I did it would be set in Chicago because I love Chicago. Unfortunately I make no money off of this, this is purely for fun and enjoyment, so get to the enjoyment!**

* * *

Chapter 8

Chuck vs. the Gift

Chuck knocked on Sarah's door; she had gone back to using her hotel room while her father was in town, not trusting him enough to bring him back to their home. _Their home._ God that was so strange yet so satisfying to think about. A few days ago, Sarah's father had come to town, and she took him to dinner with him. The night was…odd, to say the least, and Sarah's father was even more so. All that aside though, he was beginning to become accustomed to his new name of 'Schnook.' The week had gone belly-up, however, as Jack's con on the Saudi Sheik turned into a mission before he ran off with the money and left them with nothing. Chuck knew he needed to do some damage control, hence his presence outside Sarah's room with her favorite breakfast snack.

She opened the door, looking absolutely gorgeous despite being in some baggy clothes, no make-up, and her hair thrown up into a messy bun. Chuck was convinced that there was literally no possible way in which this woman before him could ever be unattractive.

"Hey…they were all out of fruit so I was forced to bring up a couple of chocolate croissants." Chuck said with a smile as he held the croissants up in one hand, two coffees in a paper tray in his other.

"Oh, I guess I have no choice but to take those off you." Sarah said with a smile, standing to the side as Chuck walked in. She kissed him on the cheek before she closed the door and walked to her bed, planting one leg on the bed and spinning down, crossing her legs in front of her as she unwrapped the pastries.

"You ok?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah. My dad will turn up somewhere, but uh, I guess the real crime is that we didn't get to freeze the sheik's accounts." She said as she began to eat.

"Well, I'm sorry if I pushed you into trusting your father." He said, genuine concern on his face.

"If there's one thing I learned from my father it's being ready for disappointment…and if it's anyone's fault, it's mine."

Chuck frowned. He understood being upset and disappointed by his parents.

"No, it's not." He said. "Eleven years ago, my father left Ellie and me. He's a….well, he was an unusual man. I guess that's being generous – he was an engineer. We used to get Christmas Cards and birthday calls and then one year it just…it just stopped. I don't know why. But what I do know is that it wasn't my fault. Granted, it took a significant amount of time and an incredible amount of therapy to come to that realization, but…you need to know that your father's sins are his, and not yours." Chuck finished as he looked Sarah in the eye.

She swallowed, looking down and blinking before looking back up at Chuck.

"That's pretty eloquent for nine a.m." She said with a smile.

"What can I say? I am an articulate schnook." He said with a laugh.

Sarah giggled. "Lucky for me," she said before leaning in to kiss him. It was a gentle yet passionate kiss, a lot of unsaid things being put into it. When they broke apart, Sarah rested her forehead against his and decided it was time for some of those things to be said.

"I love you, Chuck. I'm sorry it took me a while to say it. This is all new to me, but…I'm done running away. I want you to know I'm in this for the long haul, all the way. I love you." She said again as she kissed him once more.

"I love you too," Chuck replied. He stood up, lifting her luggage as he walked. "Hopefully this is the last time we have to move you out of this hotel room."

* * *

Chuck rushed down the steps from the freezer of the Orange Orange, he had just been to the ATM and found an extra ten million dollars hanging out in his account that hadn't been there before. He made it to the bottom and found Sarah stuffing some duffle bags full of weapons and t-shirts.

"Hey, Sarah, stop! Your dad put the money in my account!" Chuck yelled.

Sarah looked up at him, shocked.

"What? Why would my father put the sheik's money in your account?" She asked

"I don't know Sarah, but are you going to tell me what's going on?" Chuck asked, pointing to the duffle bags.

"I don't want to get you involved, this is between me and my father." Sarah said angrily.

Chuck walked around the table and held her close. "Sarah, don't shut me out. We're a team, now, at work and outside of it. Trust me," He said.

"Chuck, I do trust you, I just don't want you to get hurt…or to run away." She said, sounding the most vulnerable he remembered her being in a long time.

"Sarah, I love you…completely. I'm not going anywhere, not your dad or your past or an army of Fulcrum goons are going to chase me away from you. Wherever you are going, I'm going. You don't have to tell me what's going on if you don't want to; just know that I'm going with you, always." He said. Chuck walked into the armory to emphasize his point and strapped on some light Kevlar below his jacket before taking down a rifle and slamming a magazine home.

"I love you, Chuck. I should have trusted you not to run. Come on, I'll fill you in on the way." She said as she kissed him.

Chuck grabbed the duffle bags and led the way up the stairs.

"After we call Casey," he said. "We're all a team, we do this together."

* * *

They had saved Sarah's father and even frozen the sheik's accounts – all in all, they could call it a success. Chuck was standing outside of Sarah's hotel room, waiting for her to come out to him after she was forced to arrest him by Beckman. Instead of seeing Sarah, however, Jack Burton walked up to him.

"Hello, Charlie." He said.

"I've kind of grown accustomed to Schnook," Chuck said.

"So have I." Jack replied. Chuck stared as he tried to figure out what he meant by that. "I uh...I wanted to thank you for coming back when I gave you ten million reasons to leave."

"Well, you gave me one really, really good reason to stay." Chuck said with conviction. "And she would have done the same for me, every time."

"Yeah, I believe she would have." He said. "Lucky for me, she met the right schnook."

Sirens began blaring as Chuck and Jack took cover behind the hedges, multiple police cars pouring into the front drive of the hotel. They watched as Sarah walked out and began talking to the cops, making up a story about where Jack had gone.

"My daughter is some kind of cop, isn't she?" Jack asked.

Chuck paused as he thought about what to say. He decided on the truth – or a portion of it.

"Yeah…yeah, something like that. You should be proud of her, she has done quite a bit of good." Chuck said proudly.

"She turned out pretty good…even with a lousy father." Jack said as he turned to Chuck. "Take care of her." He said seriously.

"I always will…I promise." Chuck said, honestly.

Chuck walked away and up to Sarah. She was holding her arms, goose bumps erupting along them.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," Sarah said, not altogether convincingly.

"Here," Chuck said as he slipped his jacket from his shoulders and put it around Sarah's. He put his arm around her as they walked inside.

"He'll be back soon," Chuck said.

"No…he won't, but thank you, Chuck." She smiled as she looked up at him. "I love you." She said happily as he kissed the top of her head.

* * *

 _How did it come to this?_ Chuck wondered as he sat behind the Nerd Herd desk looking out over the wreckage. He looked from the car that was buried under the debris of walls and display shelves to his sister and Awesome who were sitting with the other Buy Morons who were scattered throughout the store.

Chuck's earpiece chirped, " _Chuck, hold on, we're on our way up through the break room entrance._ " Sarah said over their comms.

Chuck held his hands up in front of him as the gunman got out of his car, waving a loaded revolver. If only his sister and Devon weren't here, he could pull some hand-to-hand maneuvers and take out the gunman and his coworkers would buy whatever story he came up with; unfortunately, Devon and Ellie were far too sharp for any story he could concoct.

"Not good…not good, oh boy, not good!" The gunman was pacing, pointing his gun randomly at the people in the story. _Great, I get stuck with the unstable guy holding my family and friends at gunpoint…what a great Christmas story this will make._ "Ok Ned, just calm down, calm down. Think, think think. Hi!" He said to the room at large. "Uh, my name is Nathan Edward Ryherson. Uh, people like to call me Ned. I'm sorry about the entrance. Could someone please tell me who's in charge here?"

Chuck rolled his eyes as everyone in the store yelled, "Chuck!"

 _Well, better they said me than Emmitt,_ Chuck thought.

"I don't want to hurt anyone, Chuck." Ned said. "So as long as no one gets brave, no one gets shot."

Ned instructed everyone to move over to the Santa's Village where he could control them more easily. Chuck thought it was odd that an inexperienced, seemingly unstable man was smart enough to gather everyone into a small, controllable area complete with its own fence. This brought dozens of possible explanations to his mind, but he didn't know which was the most feasible, so he simply filed the information away for later.

"Chuck, where's the uh, security system?" Ned asked, pointing his gun at him.

"It's um, well, just follow me." Chuck led him over to the security console.

"Are there any other ways in or out of the store?" Ned asked. This was, again, pretty thorough for this type of man, and Chuck was quickly becoming more suspicious.

"Yeah, but they're all locked down since we technically haven't opened yet." Chuck said, obviously leaving out the fact that his partners were currently on their way up from one of the secret pathways from the store. Ned instructed Chuck to lock down the store, and he did as he was told.

Several minutes later, Chuck was standing at the Nerd Herd desk again as the phone began ringing.

"Who's that?" Ned asked, worried.

"Well, it's probably the police," Chuck said. "They're probably wondering what's happening." He explained.

"I don't want to talk to anyone, do you think you could answer it?" Ned asked.

"Sure, Ned, whatever you need, man." Chuck picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"This is Lt. Mauser, LAPD. Who am I speaking with?"

"Uh, this is Chuck Bartowski," Chuck said. "I'm the Nerd Herd supervisor, and I've actually been in these types of situations before, so no need to worry. I can tell you that no one is hurt, and Ned here is going to speaking to you through me, but he doesn't want any trouble."

"Ok, Chuck, well that's good to hear. Tell him to send out a hostage as a sign of good faith." Mauser said.

Chuck relayed this to Ned who was spared a response by Emmitt's obnoxious yelling of 'pick me.'

"Uh…ok, fine, send him out." Ned said.

Emmitt left the store as Chuck unlocked the doors for him, sprinting to the nearest camera to try and get people to come to the store. As his face popped onto the screens inside the store, Chuck just shook his head in disbelief. As he was watching the screens, Sarah called him on his earpiece again and told him to come to the break room.

"Ned, can I go to the bathroom?" Chuck asked.

Ned nodded his assent and Chuck walked off towards Sarah and Casey.

"Hey guys, welcome to the party." Chuck said with a laugh as he joined his teammates by the lockers.

"Stow it, Bartowski. You know better than to throw parties without me, my feelings are hurt, you know." Casey said with a scowl.

Sarah looked at him, "Chuck, our orders are to get you out of here and down into Castle."

"No!" Chuck yelled. "Look Sarah, Casey, I'm sorry but my sister and awesome are in there, and so are Morgan and Big Mike and my other friends. I can't just walk away from them and leave them to die." Chuck said.

"Did she say that's what we're doing, moron?" Casey asked. "Those are our orders, but that's not what we're doing. We're going in there and we're going to take this guy down." Casey said with a growl.

Chuck smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"Don't get all weepy on me, or I'll change my mind and drag your ass down there myself." Casey said.

"Beckman has a team on the way to take over for the cops, until then we're on our own." Sarah Said.

As they were beginning to work out a strategy, Chuck heard Ned's voice.

"Chuck, is that you?"

Ned yelled as he saw Casey and Sarah and he pointed the gun at them.

"Chuck, what's going on?" He yelled.

"Ned, relax, they heard your crash and they hid, okay? This is my girlfriend, Sarah and my coworker John, they're completely harmless." Chuck said, ironically.

"John Casey, huh?" Ned asked. Chuck realized that he did not say Casey's last name, and he added this to his quickly-growing list of suspicions. Now was not the time to act on them, however.

"Ned, just decock the gun." Chuck said.

Ned considered him for a few moments before speaking.

"Okay…but how do I do that?" He asked. Chuck barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

"Push in the small button on the side, that's the safety, then push down on the little lever above it and do not pull the trigger." As Chuck spoke, he saw Ned fumbling with the gun, yet at the same time, he never moved his hands from the grip and trigger. Chuck lunged forward and pushed the gun upwards as it fired, narrowly avoiding hitting Casey. Chuck tried to take the gun from him, but he was surprisingly strong, and pushed Chuck back before pointing the gun at him again and ordering them all to walk out into the store. They were met with panicked looks from everyone inside the store.

"It's ok everyone, no one was hit, it was an accidental discharge." Chuck said, not entirely convinced himself but selling it to everyone else.

They walked to the edge of the group and looked around, as Sarah caught Ellie's terrified eye.

"I'm going to go see if I can calm your sister down, Chuck. I'll be right back." Sarah said. Chuck kissed her before she left. "Thank you," he said.

Casey and Chuck sat down on a small bench at the edge of the village.

"Casey, something isn't right," Chuck said, before he proceeded to tell Casey of all of his suspicions.

Casey was thoughtful for a minute, scratching his chin as he considered everything Chuck had just told him. Suddenly, he seemed to come to a conclusion. "You're right, kid, something isn't sitting right. Good eye, let's just keep alert for now."

Chuck overheard Sarah as she sat down next to Ellie, who despite her trepidation was kind enough to ask Sarah first if she was alright.

"I'm fine," Sarah replied. "I've just never been this close to a gun before."

Chuck smirked and tried not to laugh outright as he caught Sarah's eye. Then something far less amusing caught Chuck's attention. Awesome had pulled Big Mike, Morgan, Jeff and Lester aside and was trying to convince them to take action against Ned. Chuck walked over and broke up their little gang.

"Guys, this is a terrible idea, ok? We're making plenty of progress between myself and the negotiator. I've been in a situation like this before, ok? Just stay calm, don't do anything stupid, and we'll all be going home tonight." Casey walked over and had Chuck's back, as usual.

"Chuck's right, just let the professional's handle this."

"I know you guys work at a Buy More," Awesome started. "But I'm a doctor, okay? I take risks every day. This is a matter of life or death, someone needs to man up and take action. Someone…needs to be a hero."

Chuck seethed. He had a lot of respect for Devon, but this was a little much. Taking risks with someone else's life is a lot different than laying your own life on the line, and he was working on figuring out how to say that without saying that he had done it when Ellie saved him.

"No, they don't Devon. Being a hero is being alive to take care of your friends and family." They were interrupted by the ringing of the phone and Ned calling for Chuck to pick it up.

"Look, just sit down and do not do anything stupid or so help me, I will kick all of your asses." Chuck said. Jeff and Lester snorted their disbelief but Casey backed him up by cracking his knuckles menacingly. Chuck walked over to the desk and picked the phone up again.

"This is Chuck," he said.

"Okay, talk to me Chuck; we heard gunfire, what's going on in there?" Mauser asked.

"Everything's under control in here, there was an accidental shot fired but no one was hurt."

After a few more thoroughly wasted minutes, Chuck hung up the phone as Ned thought about what his demands were. Chuck convinced him to let everyone call their loved ones, and they proceeded to do so. Chuck dialed Sarah's number as he headed over to the movie aisle.

"Hi Chuck," Sarah said, a smile in her voice. "Where are you?"

"DVDs," he replied. "I'm in the romantic comedy section although for irony's sake, I suppose I should probably be in hostage-thrillers."

Sarah walked around the corner laughing as she hung up the phone.

"So, uh, Ned let everyone call their loved ones. Pretty smart to call me, protect our cover." She said, joking.

"Cover has nothing to do with it, Sarah." Chuck smiled at her.

"So does all this mean your offer still stands for Christmas?" She asked.

"See, I knew you could be heart-warmed!" Chuck exclaimed with a large smile. "I actually, um…I have something for you. I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but, uh, considering the circumstances, I kind of want to give it to you today." He said, pulling out a small pouch from his back pocket as she sat in front of him.

Sarah looked at him strangely, "Chuck, we're gonna get out of here. We'll be fine, I…promise." The words died in her throat as he pulled the silver bracelet from its velvet pouch.

"Wow." She said, stunned. "It's beautiful."

"It's good luck," he said, matter-of-factly. "It was my mom's charm bracelet. My dad gave it to her when Ellie was born." Chuck said as he placed it on her wrist and closed the clasp.

"Oh Chuck," she said, breathlessly. "I can't take this. This is something special, something that belongs to your family." She said nervously.

Chuck simply shifted his hands to hers and rubbed it soothingly.

"Sarah, you are my family. I have no intention of letting you go now that we have each other. I love you Sarah Walker, and I want you to have this, forever." Chuck said with a smile as he leaned in and kissed her passionately. She returned the kiss with fire and when they broke she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Chuck." She whispered. They were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Chuck got up to answer it, and minutes later informed Ned that Lt. Mauser was coming in, unarmed.

Ned allowed Chuck to lift the security gate, admitting Lt. Mauser. He was an older man with an unkind face. He removed his vest, laying it on the ground and turning in a circle to demonstrate that he was unarmed. As he walked inside, he began talking to Ned out of earshot of Chuck and the others.

 _Strange that Ned would let Mauser walk right up to him, and not even point his gun at him,_ Chuck thought. This whole thing was completely strange. Mauser walked over to the hostages.

"Everyone, my name is Lt. Mauser with the LAPD, I'm the one who has been talking to Chuck on the phone through all of this. Ned here has agreed to let two hostages go. How about you?" He asked, pointing to Casey. Casey and Chuck both narrowed their eyes in suspicion. How do they just pick Casey out of everyone?

"No, no I'm good right here. How about you let Ellie go in my place." Casey said. Ned cut him off. "No, I feel bad for almost shooting you. You get to go. And Chuck, you've been really good to me, so I'm going to let your girlfriend go."

Chuck had had it. That was the final straw, something was definitely up. Out of all of these people he just happens to pick the two government agents to be the hostages that are released? Ellie hugged Casey before he left. "Thank you for trying, John." She said. Devon shook his hand when Ellie released her. "Seriously, bro, thanks." He said.

Chuck walked up to Sarah and embraced her, whispering in her ear. "Sarah, something isn't right. Run a background chuck on both of these guys and their close associates, including Ned's wife. I've got a bad feeling about this." She hugged him back before replying.

"Ok, Chuck. Just be careful. I love you."

"I love you too, I'll be safe, I promise." They kissed briefly, but fiercely before she and Casey walked out of the store.

Mauser walked up to Chuck and shook his hand.

"Good to finally meet you face-to-face, Chuck." Maser said. "You did a hell of a job. Pretty impressive for a retail jockey."

"I just want all this over as soon as possible." Chuck said.

"So do I, Chuck," Mauser said, rolling up his sleeves. "So do I."

Chuck glanced at Mauser's watch and flashed. As he came out of it, he knew that the man was Fulcrum, and his suspicions were confirmed.

"Do you think I could go to the bathroom?" Chuck asked. Mauser nodded and Chuck headed there as quickly as he could.

"Sarah, Casey, I just flashed, the LAPD Lt. is Fulcrum." Chuck said into his watch.

" _Roger that, Chuck."_ Casey's voice said in his ear _. "We just ran a background check on Ned, there is no record at all of him having a wife. What's more, the check we ran on the call he made shows the number was a cell phone registered to Frank Mauser. Your instincts were dead on, we're on our way back in through Castle with the SWAT team, get ready, we'll be in position in four minutes._ "

Chuck headed back out to the sales floor and glanced around at all of his loved ones. He walked up to the group of men who were once again trying to come up with a plan.

"Listen guys, I told you to knock this shit off. When I let Sarah and Casey out there was a SWAT team getting ready to come in. Just trust me, and let them do their job. If you really want to save the day, go around to everyone and get them down low. Get behind cover if you can, but mostly just stay down, okay?"

Devon looked at Chuck, considering him. After a long pause, he spoke. "Ok, Chuck. I don't like this, but we'll do it your way for now."

"Thank you, Devon. Now go, get down." Chuck said.

He walked back up to the Nerd Herd desk, where Mauser and Ned were talking.

Chuck glanced at his watch. Three of his four minutes had gone by, he had to keep them talking.

"So what is Fulcrum doing crashing cars into the local Buy More? CIA targets too boring for you?" Chuck asked. Mauser looked taken aback, but only for a moment.

"So, you figured it out, huh? Well, it doesn't change anything. We knew there was a CIA team here, but we didn't know who this mysterious third member was. John Casey and Ms. Walker we've known about for a long time, we've lost enough agents to them over the years. But what we didn't know, was who their little sidekick was. So, now that we know, I guess it's time we take you out." Mauser finished as Ned pointed his gun at Chuck's head. Chuck heard Ellie gasp as the other began moving around, instructing everyone to get to the floor.

" _We're moving in, Chuck, take them._ " Chuck heard several dull thuds and he closed his eyes, plugging his ears in preparation. Multiple flashbang grenades went off around the store as several teams rushed in from all sides. Chuck opened his eyes, and quickly disarmed Ned, sending the gun flying. Ned was still up though, and Chuck aimed a well-timed kick at his abdomen, followed by a knee to the face as he doubled up in pain. Ned went down for the count as Chuck quickly turned to Mauser, pulling his gun from his waistband and aiming it at Mauser's face.

"Game over, Fulcrum loses…again." Chuck said. The team rushed up and put Mauser into cuffs. Two members of the SWAT Team rushed up and took custody of both Mauser and Ned, and Chuck quickly recognized the figures as Casey and Sarah; even with the tactical gear hiding their identities, he would recognize his partners anywhere. Luckily, the former hostages were all disoriented from the flashbangs, seeing as none of them had been through the training that Chuck had which allowed him to brace for the blast, so none of them had seen his training in full swing as he took out the Fulcrum agents. For a brief, terrifying moment Chuck though he saw Ellie looking at him out of the corner of his eye as he was holding the gun, but when he looked over at her she was still getting up off the floor. As the hostages began raising and stumbling haphazardly, the team carried the two bound agents out back and Chuck followed. They put them on their knees as they began to question them, and Mauser broke the silence.

"You three may have beaten us, but Fulcrum won this one. We know Chuck Bartowski is the Intersect, I saw him flash when he saw my watch."

"Chuck's secret is safe," Sarah said. "You're going straight to a CIA detention facility, never to be seen or heard from again."

"You go right ahead, Agent Walker," Mauser continued. "Arrest us, take us in. But say goodbye to Chuck. You see, we're not like those other Fulcrum agents. They'll do whatever it takes to find me. And when they do, every Fulcrum agent we have will know that Chuck's the Intersect. It's going to be the end of his pathetic existence. So take us in…we're ready - " Mauser never finished the sentence as Sarah scrunched up her face in anger, shooting him in the head, followed by Ned.

"No, like Chuck said…Fulcrum loses." A single tear slid down Sarah's cheek as she looked at Chuck. Chuck lunged forward and took her in his arms. "I'm sorry, Chuck…I couldn't let him live, not if it put you and your family at risk. I can't lose you." Sarah began to sob openly. "Any of you, you or your family."

"Shh, Sarah, it's ok. Thank you, I appreciate what you did for me, for _our_ family. It's ok, it's all over now." Chuck continued to hold her as she cried more.

"I don't want to do this anymore, Chuck. I'm tired of all the killing…I just want to be normal." She said.

"I hate to break it to you Sarah, but I don't think we'll ever be normal. Can you imagine you working in an office building? You would leave a trail of knives in every clock and computer in the building, if you don't get to take out your aggression."

Sarah snorted as she laughed through the tears.

"Come on, let's go home. You're safe now, I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Still holding her in his arms, Chuck walked with her back into the Buy More as Casey followed behind, watching over his two friends.


	9. Chapter 9 Chuck vs the Accent

**A/N: Hey all! Hope you enjoy this one, I certainly did! Just a small note since I only am just now starting to add dates/location headings to the sections. This first portion takes place as a flashback during his CIA training before coming back to the present (Not that it's too hard to figure out, just wanted to make sure not to lose anyone since I was confused for a few minutes when I was proofreading, but that could just be because I'm running on about 2 hours of sleep). Still pretty swamped trying to get the rest of my ride time in on the ambulance, and probably in light of that I threw some medical jargon on here. Also, I branched out with the language a little bit here, so hopefully nobody minds. Anywho. Thank you all so much for continuing to read. In the next chapter it is going to stop being so linear, and start taking on a different direction. Most of it will still happen in a similar fashion, and I think you'll like where it's headed.**

 **I do not own Chuck, and I make no money off this story.**

* * *

Chapter 9

Chuck vs. the Accent

 _April 24th, 2008_

 _Camp Peary, AKA The Farm_

 _Unknown Time  
_

"Rise and shine sweetness," a sinister voice said as a large fist impacted the side of Chuck's face. His head was snapped to the side, blood flying from his mouth. Chuck raised his head to look at his assaulter, an absolute hulk of a man that put John Casey to shame. Chuck pooled as much spit and blood into his mouth as he could in his dehydrated state and spat at the man's feet.

"Go to hell," he said. This earned him another punch to his already well-abused abdomen. Chuck would like to curl into a ball but he could not. He was standing up against a wall, his hands chained up above his head. He had been pulled from his bunk in the middle of the night and tranqued; the next thing he knew he woke up chained to this wall.

Chuck had known this was coming; the torture resistance training was legendary at the Farm, and dreaded. All agents secretly were terrified of this moment, but they knew they had to go through it. Chuck thought back to his initial training – torture resistance was one of the first classes they forced you to attend, but they waited until long after the class was over to spring the actual torture on you. So far Chuck had been beaten with fists, feet, baseball bats, and a crowbar. He had been hooked up to a car battery, water boarded, nearly drowned, suffocated with a plastic bag and forced to eat rancid food and lay in the piles of his own excrement and vomit. Now, six and half days later, Chuck still had not cracked.

"We know you know their location; tell us, where are Agents Casey and Walker?" The Hulk punched him in the face again.

 _Like I would ever give either one of them up,_ Chuck thought. "They're on a picnic; do you think we could join?" _Ow._ Another punch to the face, it was a wonder he hadn't lost a tooth yet.

Chuck's captor questioned him for another thirty minutes and Chuck continued to not give an inch. Today however, his captor slipped for the first time. He thought Chuck had passed out, and while he was waiting for the medical team to come check him he left him lying on the floor in nothing but a sloppily tied knot while he spoke into his phone.

"Subject is showing significant resistance, he's lasted longer than anyone else we've put through recently. Yes sir, we'll make sure to clean up." He was never able to turn back around as Chuck slipped out of the knot and took him down with a single well placed kick to the back of his head. Chuck quickly tied the man up with a far more efficient knot than had been used on him, and he grabbed his gun off the table before heading to the door. He checked the action of the pistol – a tranq gun, perfect. He may want to escape but that doesn't mean he wanted to kill his fellow countrymen in the CIA training camp.

He slowly inched the door open and checked both ways down the hallway before stealthily heading down the hall to the right. He turned the corner once he saw the next hallway was clear but was forced to dive into a room on his left when he heard movement up ahead. Chuck closed the door quietly and looked around; he was in a small, empty office that had a window overlooking a large yard. Chuck crossed the room to the window and tried it, finding it unlocked and easy to open. He opened it all the way and popped the screen out before climbing out on the slanted roof. Chuck jumped up and grabbed hold of the roof above him, hauling himself up and looking around.

He was standing on the roof of a large ranch house surrounded by trees. He looked down and took stock of his clothing. He was wearing a white t-shirt and boxers, nothing else, not even socks – not going to last long on a hike. Chuck looked around and spotted an unguarded SUV. Based on past experiences he estimated that he had another two to three minutes before the medical team found his captor and raised the alarm.

Chuck moved quickly, jumping back down to the lower roof and again down to the ground, rolling to absorb the impact. He took off at a sprint to the SUV and found it locked with a driver sitting in the seat, napping. He spotted a strong-looking branch nearby and used it to move the side mirror so he couldn't be seen before tapping on the window and crouching by the back seat. The door opened and the confused driver began to step out, being rewarded with a tranq dart to the neck. Chuck dragged him out and jumped in the SUV, flooring the accelerator as he tore away from the house and down the road.

Several hours later, a showered, shaved and bandaged Chuck strolled into the mess hall of Camp Peary, dressed in his issued ACUs and grabbed a lunch tray, acting like nothing happened. His instructors sat at a table eating and watched him walk across the mess with their mouths hanging open, one of them with a bit of spaghetti comically hanging out. Chuck wasn't surprised to see their shock; after all, when you spend hours looking for your trainee only to find that he has slipped back onto your base completely undetected and is now acting as though he's been there the entire time, it tends to leave you a little surprised.

* * *

 _March 2_ _nd_ _, 2009_

 _2136 Pacific Time_

 _Standard Hotel, L.A., California_

Chuck was sitting at the Standard Hotel Bar, drinking a Martini: gin shaken only as a last resort, with two olives. Just as Roan had taught him – and the man certainly knew how to enjoy a martini. He needed the drink as he listened to Sarah flirting with their mark up in his room. He obviously knew it was just for the mission, but that didn't stop his hand from wanting to find the handle of his Glock and run up to the room. But, his personal feelings aside, he was a professional…so being the professional he is, he decided he should move into position on the 11th floor – purely in case Sarah issued the distress signal, of course.

Chuck was glad he'd made this decision, as shortly after he got into position in the floor's lounge, he heard Sarah's voice over the earpiece.

" _I'm willing to try new things but it's getting a little hot in here. I wonder if maybe we could grab some champagne, maybe some…Cristal?"_

Chuck sprang to his feet and charged down the hall. He arrived at room 1121 and radioed to Casey, who informed him that he had problems of his own. Chuck gathered his strength as he lifted his leg, forcefully kicking in the door to the hotel room. He opted to grab his tranq gun instead of his Glock.

Chuck wished he had sprung for the Glock as he took in the scene before him: Sarah's hands were bound by Cole Barker's belt as she stood by the window; the Fulcrum Agent himself was sitting on the bed on the phone. Chuck didn't hesitate as he fired two darts into Barker's neck before rushing to Sarah and checking on her.

"You ok?" He asked.

She smiled at him as he untied her hands, rolling up the belt and putting it in his pocket. "I'm fine, Chuck, thanks."

Sarah lifted her dress and stepped back into it, turning her back to Chuck and lifting her hair in a silent request for him to zip her up. He quickly complied and kissed her softly on the neck as Barker began to stir – he had only hit him with twilight darts. Chuck went up to him and pulled his Glock this time, aiming at Barker's head.

"Apparently you're a little kinkier than you let on, love." Barker said. _Stupid British accented little turd,_ Chuck thought, angrily.

"Get dressed. You're coming with us." Chuck said.

Moments later they entered the roof, and Barker continued to whine.

"You guys are making a huge mistake," he said.

"You just keep your mouth shut; we'll deal with you later." Chuck replied.

"There won't be a later unless you listen to me. You have no idea who you're dealing with."

Chuck ignored him as they continued walking towards the edge of the roof.

"Do you think I'm falling for this?" Sarah asked, clearly not too pleased after his treatment of her. "Trust me, you're not that charming."

Further conversation was interrupted as a fully armed Blackhawk helicopter flew up from below, taking aim at them as they took cover.

"That's not our ride!" Sarah yelled, unhelpfully.

Sarah called for help before she took off for a different cover location, trying to draw fire away from them.

 _Dammit Sarah, I'm not your asset anymore, you don't have to protect me all the time_ Chuck thought angrily. He was about to make his anger known to her before he was interrupted by Barker.

"Okay, listen to me clearly: I am not a Fulcrum agent. I'm MI6 working undercover." Barker said arrogantly.

"Oh, gee, bloody sorry about that mate. Here, I'll let you go now based on your zero evidence to back that up." Chuck said, sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. Chuck pulled out his phone and began using his hacking app to look for wireless signals in the area. Soon enough, he struck gold as he found the heavily encrypted signals that must have been GPS and communications signals being sent to the helicopter. He piggybacked onto these signals and was quickly in the core of the helicopter's systems.

"Sarah, I'm in their computers, get back here." Chuck said into his watch. She couldn't respond, however, as the chopper had her pinned down. Chuck watched as she ducked, sparks flying all around her. He quickly made a decision as he took off sprinting as fast he could, reaching her in seconds. He grabbed her around the arm and yanked her with him, pulling her behind the concrete wall of the parking garage. He covered her with his body as he began typing furiously into his phone, cutting off the power to the weapons package on the helicopter. The gunfire abruptly ceased and a deceptive layer of calm fell over the roof-top parking garage. Sarah squirmed under chuck and rolled so she was looking up at him. She looked into his eyes and smiled.

Suddenly, small arms fire erupted once more. Chuck whipped his head around and saw Barker. He had his hands in front of him, still cuffed as he began firing his gun that he must have taken from Sarah's purse. He opened fire on the fuel tanks below the helicopter and Chuck realized what was about to happen.

"Barker, no!" Chuck yelled. Too late – a huge explosion filled the air as he pulled Sarah as completely under him as he could, tucking his head next to hers.

"You ok?" He asked as the flaming helicopter plummeted to the street.

"Yea, Chuck, are you?" Chuck nodded as he stood up. Barker looked rather pleased with himself as he lowered the gun and walked towards them.

"Well, saved the day again, it would appear. You're welcome." The Brit said smugly.

Chuck's blood began to boil. "Saved the day? Is that what you call this clusterfuck? You just caused a major explosion and destroyed a military helicopter in downtown L.A.! You know that whole 'covert' part of covert ops? That means _not_ blowing shit up in the middle of a major metropolitan area! Did you not notice that the guns had stopped firing? I had this under control until you decided to show off." Chuck finished his shouting match and barely resisted punching Barker in the face as he stalked past him.

"Where are you going?" Barker asked.

"To make sure you didn't kill anyone." He said simply as he walked to the car that Casey he had driven to the roof. Chuck pulled an FBI tactical vest from their collection of different government apparel in the trunk and tossed two more to Casey and Sarah. Casey had just finished putting Barker back into cuffs and shoved him in the car as the three drove down to the street to begin their long night of damage control.

* * *

 _March 3_ _rd_ _, 2009_

 _0400 Pacific Time_

 _Castle_

"You people just blew 18 months of undercover work." Barker said angrily.

His anger was nothing, however, compared to the fury that seemed to radiate from the television screen that was home to the scowling visage of one General Diane Beckman.

"And you, _Agent_ Barker, just killed four civilians, critically injured fifteen, caused hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of damage in the middle of downtown L.A., and not to mention you destroyed any hope of questioning those on the helicopter in the first place. I'm not sure how you do things in your own country, but here we prefer not to murder our own civilians. Your actions were completely reckless and irresponsible, and what's more they were completely unnecessary. Agent Bartowski had the situation in hand and was bringing the attack to a peaceful resolution before you thought with your gun and not your brain. I have lodged a formal complaint with the British government, and they were none too happy. You are to remain in lock down in Castle, under guard until your government arrives to collect you."

Beckman took a breath from her attack as she turned to her people. "Team, I'm sorry, but you're on babysitting duty tonight. Excellent work, you completed your mission and recovered the stolen data, and you _almost_ ended a dangerous situation with no civilian casualties. Have a pleasant evening."

The screen went blank and the team was left in silence. Chuck and Sarah looked at each other sadly – they had planned on going to lunch with Ellie and Devon that afternoon. Granted, they should probably be grateful as they were exhausted thanks to the night's events.

Barker, for his part, had the sense to at least appear properly disparaged. "I apologize for putting your lives in danger, and for the trouble. And for what it's worth, I'm also sorry that you have to play the role of my babysitters."

Chuck wasn't sure how he felt about Barker yet. He appeared to be a good agent – maybe they had just gotten off on the wrong foot.

"Look, just sit there and stay out of the way and we won't lock you in a cell. Call it professional courtesy, but don't make me change my mind." Chuck said. Sarah and Casey both looked at him with different looks in their eyes; Sarah's held respect and Casey's uncertainty.

"You sure, Chuck? Did you forget what this dickhead has done?" Casey asked.

"No, Casey, I very clearly remember the events of 6 hours ago, but as I said it's professional courtesy. Let's just get to work." Chuck sat down at the table and began poking around at the data drive that they had recovered from Cole. It was a mark of how close he and Casey had gotten that he simply grunted and sat at the table, cleaning his gun.

Barker rolled his eyes. "Whatever information is on that chip is useless without the playback device."

Sarah looked at him suspiciously. "Why?" She asked.

"Fulcrum devised a system to ensure that critical information, if intercepted, couldn't be read." He began. "My mission was to bring the chip to my contact and find out what's on it. To do that, we need the playback device."

"Fine, I'll bite. If we can't open it, what are the meet details for you and your contact?" Casey asked.

"Why don't I just try and hack it?" Chuck interrupted. The three spies looked at him. "What, I've hacked a data drive or two in my day. I'm pretty good at it, if you'll recall?"

"Not like this," Cole said. "This is a little more complicated than you and your friends stealing video games."

Casey smacked Cole upside the head. "This guy's hacking skills have saved my life more than once, and they saved us last night before you got trigger happy. You think you can do it Chuck?"

"Probably…but I'm sure there are at least a few fail-safe's in place, least of which would be a GPS tracker."

"Look, the only way we're going to see what's on that chip is if we get the playback device." Cole said thoughtfully. "Maybe my cover is still intact. I'll call my contact and arrange a new meet."

"No," Sarah said forcefully. "That's too dangerous. At this point, I highly doubt your cover is still intact and what's more we are not going to go on an off-the-books mission on your word. I trust Chuck to get this done."

"Me too," Casey said without hesitation.

"Alright, thanks guys. We need to be smart about this though."

The three set to work looking for a good place they could try and hack into the chip that would also serve as a good place to set a trap for Fulcrum. They were so absorbed in their planning session, in fact, that they hadn't noticed Cole get up, don his suit, and leave Castle when he was 'going to the bathroom.' Chuck suddenly looked up from his work.

"Where did Cole go?" He asked.

Almost on cue, Beckman appeared on the monitors.

"Team, what part of keep an eye on Barker did you not understand?" She yelled. "Cole Barker attempted to meet with his Fulcrum contact and they captured him. He is being held and ransomed out for the chip. They sent us this video." A video of Cole suspended from the ceiling took over the screen, as he was repeatedly beat with a tire iron. Beckman appeared once more.

"We're attempting to track the video, but for now stay in Castle and await further instructions." Without any further conversation, the screen faded to black once more. Casey and Sarah moved into Castle and began prepping weapons they would likely need for a rescue mission. Instead of joining them, Chuck looked at the chip as a plan began to form in his head.

"Guys, I'll be right back, I need to go grab something from my locker in the Buy More." Chuck said.

"You heard the General, Bartowski, we're staying down here." Casey said, not looking up from his weapons.

"Sorry," Chuck said sadly. Sarah heard his tone of voice and knowing her boyfriend as she did, attempted to lunge out of the armory to stop him. Unfortunately she was too slow as he sent the armory into lockdown and grabbed the chip. "You'll be let out soon. This is my fault…I'm going after him."

"Chuck, no! You can't do this; let me out of here right now!" Sarah yelled.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. I'll be safe, I promise. I love you." With that he headed up the stairs at a run.

A few minutes later Chuck sat at his computer station in the Buy More. He had just closed his jaw after it dropped when he found that the subject of the data drive was himself. He looked up to see a woman and several men, all in suits, approaching him. He smashed the drive and waited for them to meet up with him. The agent looked down at the chip and then back up at Chuck.

"That was dumb," She said. "Why do people always insist on doing things the hard way?"

"Well you know, boring day job, I needed some excitement in my life. It was either this or heroin and I just can't tie those dang tourniquets myself so here we are." Chuck said sarcastically.

"Let's go," She said angrily as Chuck was hauled up by her goons.

* * *

 _March 3_ _rd_ _2009_

 _Unknown Time_

 _Unknown location_

 _Man, Sarah is going to kill me,_ Chuck thought as he once again felt the crack of a 4x4 post against his back. He flinched as pain seared through him, but as usual he found his sarcastic side.

"You know you could play for the Dodgers with how poorly you hit." He said.

The agent snorted as she kicked him in the back of the knees.

"The identity of the Intersect was on that chip, so spill. Who is it?" She yelled, hitting Chuck with the post again.

Chuck spit on the ground and she looked angrily at him. She removed his tied hands from the hook holding him and threw him into a waiting chair. She walked over to the table and pulled a vial and syringe with a short needle off the table. _That doesn't look so bad._ He realized how wrong he was when she removed the needle and replaced it with a different, much longer one – apparently the first was simply for drawing up the liquid.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked, holding up the vial. "It's called Vecuronium."

Chuck flashed: _A scientist in a lab. Drug profile, action, side effects, and uses. A scientist in a lab._ His eyes went wide; this one was nasty. They used it in surgery if they needed to put a breathing tube in, this was the drug that actually paralyzed the body, but if you didn't give it with a sedative to actually put the person to sleep they remained awake and aware throughout everything, unable to move or breathe without help.

"I see you've heard of it," She continued. "Soon you'll be able to feel and hear and see every little thing, but you won't be able to do a thing to stop it." She said with a sinister grin. She took her time tying a tourniquet around Chuck's arm as she prepared an IV needle. "Although, maybe it would help if I brought in the pretty little blonde on your phone. After all, everyone talks once you find the right stimuli." She said as the agent's silent companion held up Chuck's phone, showing a picture of him holding Sarah from behind and kissing her on the cheek as she grinned happily.

Something snapped inside Chuck. He raised his leg and kicked the agent in the face. She dropped the syringe and he leapt to his feet, grabbing her gun from the shoulder holster as her jacket fluttered open. He fired two shots into the agent that was in the room with them before he reached down and grabbed the fallen female agent. He smacked her in the head with the butt of the gun and knocked her out before he grabbed a knife off the table and cut himself free. As Chuck began to look around and try and get his bearings, the doors were kicked open and shouts of, "CIA, get down!" filled the air.

Chuck sighed in relief – until he saw the blazing look of anger on the blonde CIA agent who had just stormed in wearing full tactical gear, that is. Before Chuck knew it, his head was whipped to the right as Sarah hit him, hard. The last thing he saw was the floor rushing to meet him before blackness took him again.

* * *

 _Unknown Day_

 _Unknown Time_

 _Unknown Location_

 _...again_

Chuck opened his eyes and looked around. He immediately realized two things: One, he was tied up again, to a chair this time, and two he was in his home. _Well that doesn't make sense_. He was in the bathroom and as he looked to the left he saw a long, long pair of tanned and toned legs sitting in the circle of light, but they led up to darkness and he could not see the rest of his girlfriend.

"Hi, Chuck." Sarah said in a saucy whisper. She stood up, and Chuck's breath caught in his throat. She was wearing a tight, white, lacey bit of lingerie. Chuck's eyes bulged from his head – no matter how many times he had seen Sarah in similar outfits, her beauty never ceased to amaze him.

"Wow…you look amazing Sarah." He said breathlessly.

She sauntered up to him and softly ran her hands up his arm and to his face. She leaned down close and paused in front of his face, her lips inches from him. She whispered, her lips brushing against his. "Never, _ever,_ do that again." She suddenly stood up and slapped him across the face – hard. Chuck saw stars swarm before his vision as Sarah stormed to the door and she put on her robe.

"Have fun, Chuck!" She said cheerfully as she closed the door with a snap. Chuck was confused as he sat on the chair when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps behind him – large footsteps.

"Evening, moron,"

"Hi Casey," Chuck said miserably. "Get it over with."

Casey grunted as he punched Chuck twice in the stomach. Chuck had been beaten and tortured multiple times since his training, but he had never felt the freight train-like impact that just made contact with his stomach. He let out a loud yell as the pain overtook him.

"That was one each for locking up Walker and me. She's right, don't ever _fucking_ do that again." Casey said. He pulled a knife out of his pocket and flicked it open. Chuck eyed him warily as he cut the ropes binding him. He walked over to the shower and turned it on, cranking the heat before sitting on the floor in front of Chuck and pulling out a deck of cards.

"I told Walker I'd beat some sense into you. I think two is enough, considering your intentions were honorable. Do that again though, and this beating goes on for longer." Casey said gruffly.

"So what's the shower for, Casey? This is kinda weird, to be honest." Chuck eyed him warily.

"The shower is on so it looks like we were both working hard in here, moron. Now play along." Casey began throwing out an occasional grunt as he dealt the cards and Chuck followed suit, letting out occasional yelps of pain. The card game went on for an hour, with Casey winning 200 dollars off of Chuck before he killed the water and Chuck limped out to meet Sarah.

"Let's go, sweetie." She said as she put his arm around her and helped him limp into the bedroom. Apparently the 'beating' from Casey was enough for her to forgive him. After getting him dried off and into a fresh pair of boxers, Sarah leaned close.

"Don't think I don't know he only hit you twice, Chuck. I'm letting you off the hook but God help you if you do that again. And the money you lost in there does not get you out of buying me dinner tomorrow night to make up for all this." She said, her voice sweet yet acidic.

"Yes, dear," Chuck replied.

* * *

 _March 10, 2009_

 _2116 Pacific Time_

 _Swiss Consul's Office_

Chuck was walking through the party with Sarah on his arm. "Nice, look at that one, ten o'clock." Chuck exclaimed as a waitress walked past. Sarah nudged him in the ribs, hard. He winced, his body still aching from Casey's punishment.

"Are you serious Chuck?" She asked angrily.

"I was talking about the crab cakes, Sarah, they look delicious!" Chuck said defensively.

"Oh, ok…yeah. Good." She said, awkwardly.

" _Get it together, you two._ " Cole said in their ear. " _Sarah, you look fantastic._ "

"Give it a rest, 007, even if I wasn't already happily with Chuck, you still wouldn't have a chance." Sarah said as she leaned in to kiss Chuck for emphasis. "Where else haven't we seen?" She asked.

" _I don't think you've gone in by that ice sculpture yet,_ " Cole said sulkily. The pair began heading in that direction and Chuck stopped moving as he felt a flash overtake him.

 _An old brick building with a tall smokestack. Howard Busgang, member of the Department of Defense National Science Foundation (NSF) Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering (CISE). An old brick building with a tall smokestack._

"The short, balding gentleman straight ahead, his name is Howard Busgang, that has to be Perseus." Chuck said without preamble. As they were walking into the room, Chuck accidentally bumped shoulders with another man.

"My apologies, wasn't watching where I was going." Chuck said with a smile as they shook hands. "Charles Carmichael, this is my date, Sarah Walker." They exchanged further pleasantries as Cole buzzed in their ear.

" _That's the guy, the one who was torturing me! He's Fulcrum._ "

"You two have a pleasant evening," the agent said before turning from them. Static filled their ear pieces – they realized the agent must have killed their comms.

Chuck and Sarah exchanged a look and then pressed on with the mission. As Sarah introduced herself to Dr. Busgang, Chuck moved to the side and locked eyes with Casey. He didn't appear to notice anything was amiss which meant the agent had only killed their local comms. Chuck discreetly touched his ear and gave Casey a pointed look. Casey minutely nodded before taking up a better position to watch what was happening.

As they listened to Busgang droning on about his government work, Chuck saw Cole's friends approaching them again. He tensed and placed his hand at Sarah's lower back who in turn began discreetly turning her head as she recognized the warning gesture.

Unfortunately they did not have an escape as there were still too many civilians around when the Fulcrum agent pulled his gun on them. He motioned them towards the stairs and they silently began walking. When they reached the stairs, Busgang's fear got the better of him.

"What's with the guns, Duncan?" He asked. "Who are these people?"

"We work for the government, Dr. Busgang." Sarah said.

"So do I, tell them Duncan." Busgang said. "We work for the CIA."

"The men you work for are terrorists, they're not who they say they are." Chuck said.

"We're not terrorists, we're Patriots, Howard. You're a Patriot." Duncan said arrogantly.

"Ha, a group of Patriot's that turned your back on your country." Sarah said angrily.

"You couldn't have it more wrong," Duncan retorted. "Who do you think we are? We do what needs to be done to preserve this nation's rightful place in the world. You'll thank us once day…well, not you. You'll be dead." He said.

Busgang began to panic. "I swear I'm just a scientist, they said I was helping the country!"

"Unfortunately, Howard, that was the wrong thing to say." Duncan began screwing a suppressor onto his pistol as Busgang began pleading for his life.

Chuck looked around and began planning his way out of the situation. He looked to the hall and saw Casey standing there with his gun out. Chuck locked eyes with Sarah and softly nodded in Casey's direction. Sarah allowed a small smile to grace her features as she locked eyes with Chuck once more and nodded. Chuck discreetly held up three fingers while his arm was still by his side. As he began to tick down a figure rolled in through the window and began shooting.

Chuck and Sarah reacted and took out the guards holding them, but somehow in the ruckus, Busgang was shot in the leg. He pushed the guy nearest him and began running. As the source of their distraction straightened up they were angry to find Cole standing there.

"I'll take care of things in here, you two go after the doctor!" Casey yelled. Sarah and Chuck began moving and Cole made to follow.

"Oh…I thought you meant me and Sarah," Cole said.

"Oh no, dumbass. No, no, no, you're with me." Casey said angrily.

Sarah took off running after the doctor and Chuck followed at a trot. He turned the corner and began covering her as she ran, and he was instantly rewarded for his caution as he saw a man on the stairs pointing a gun at her. Chuck immediately fired three times and watched as three bloody holes appeared in the man's chest.

"Thanks, sweetie!" Sarah yelled as she kept running.

Chuck caught up with her at the bottom of the stairs and together they made a quick sprint for the front door where they caught up with Busgang and took him to the ground.

"Dr. Busgang, please relax! My name is Chuck and this is Sarah, we work for the CIA." Chuck said, pulling out his badge. "The men you were working with belong to an organization named Fulcrum, they're a splinter organization within the U.S. Government. We're going to take you into protective custody."

Busgang was clearly still scared, but he seemed to calm down a little bit – or at the very least resigned himself to the fact that he was stuck with them whether they were lying or not. He allowed them to help him up and assist him to the ambulance that Casey had called before he began yelling himself hoarse at Cole.

Chuck and Sarah flashed their badges and both rode with the ambulance to the hospital, Sarah up front and Chuck in the back. The two paramedics clearly were uneasy about having two non-patients traveling with them, especially CIA agents, but they weren't fool enough to argue the fact.

Later at the hospital, Chuck brought Sarah a cup of coffee as she stood guard outside Busgang's room.

"Well, at least none of us got captured this time, that's the first time in what, four or five missions?" Chuck said, making Sarah laugh.

"Yea well, our target getting shot wasn't exactly part of the plan. And you and I were both technically captured for five minutes or so, so I don't think this counts."

"Eh, he's alive, it was a minor wound. The medics said he'll be fine. Don't be such a killjoy, we weren't captured and taken offsite so it doesn't count. Good thing Ellie and Awesome have the night off though, this would be hard to – hey Awesome!" Chuck said with a jump.

The aforementioned Captain Awesome had just turned the corner to find his future brother-in-law and his girlfriend standing awkwardly outside the hospital room. Chuck carefully checked to make sure his suit jacket was still pulled down over his gun.

"Hey guys, what are you doing here?" Devon asked, surprised.

"We were at a party and someone we met had an old gunshot wound that started bleeding again. We offered to give him a ride to the hospital." Sarah said quickly.

"What are you doing here; I thought you had the night off?" Chuck asked.

"I got called in for a consult, so I'm just in for a few minutes. A gunshot wound, huh? You hanging with a tough crowd, Chuck?" Devon asked.

"Nope, he was carjacked a few weeks ago." Chuck said, lying quickly.

"Huh. Well, that was nice of you guys. I gotta run, but let me know if you need anything. See you tomorrow night for dinner." Awesome clapped Chuck on the shoulder and nodded at Sarah as he headed off towards a different room.

"Well that was close," Chuck said. His phone rang and he answered it.

"Bartowski, secure but in public." He said.

"Bartowski, you were right, Busgang is indeed Perseus." Beckman began without preamble. "He is a former DARPA scientist who worked on the original Intersect."

"Why was that information not in my flash, ma'am?" He asked.

"As a safety precaution, anything about the creators of the Intersect was redacted from our files."

"I'm sorry, did you just say this guy created the Intersect?"

"He was part of the team that developed its underlying architecture, yes. He knows as much about how it works as anyone."

Chuck was silent. If he worked on the original Intersect then he may know how to get it out of his head. Chuck wasn't sure what to make of that information. A year ago, he would have jumped at the chance to get the Intersect removed, but now? Now it had become so much a part of him, he wasn't sure what he would do without it. Sarah walked up next to him and grabbed his arm, his phone call with the General long-forgotten.

"Chuck, talk to me." She said, gently.

Chuck relayed his conversation and Sarah looked at him uncertainly.

"So…do you want it removed?" Sarah asked.

"I'm…not sure. I used to, but now…now it's become a part of me, a part of the team. I'm not sure if I'd be the same agent without it."

"Chuck Bartowski you listen to me right now." Sarah began fiercely. "You don't need the Intersect to be great, you're great on your own. The only thing it does for you is give you Intel on the fly, everything else is you. The plans, the fighting, the getting us out of tough situations…that is all you. And that was the same before you went through training. You are great because of you, not because of some computer."

"I don't know Sarah. Even after all this, sometimes I still wonder if I'm cut out for this. You, Casey, Bryce, Cole…all of you are great, were born to do this. I just don't know if I'm that guy." Chuck said, still uncertain.

Sarah barely resisted rolling her eyes, clearly frustrated with Chucks' confidence issues _._ "Chuck, how many times do you have to be a hero before you realize that you _are_ that guy."

Chuck smiled and decided he was done with the self-pity, silently vowing to never go there again. "You're right, as usual. I'm sorry, sometimes I still get a little melodramatic I guess. Thanks, Sarah. I love you." He kissed her as he turned thoughtful once more. "If Busgang knows about the Intersect, we should question him while we have him." Sarah nodded her assent and followed him into the hospital room. Busgang was lying in the bed, his leg propped up on a pillow.

"Come to get me shot again?" Busgang said glumly.

"We aren't responsible for that, but for what it's worth I am sorry. But we're in here for a reason. I have some questions about the Intersect." Chuck said.

Busgang's jaw dropped. "What do you know about the Intersect?"

"A lot, actually." Chuck said.

"Who are you?" he asked, still shocked.

Chuck looked around while he decided what to tell the man. He looked in a chair and saw his bag, with a folder sticking out of the top that had a single word printed on it: Orion.

Chuck's eyes fluttered. _The Lincoln Monument, a similar file folder with the same name, strings of numbers, The Lincoln Monument._

"Orion…" Chuck said uncertainly.

"Did…did you just flash?" Busgang asked, even more shocked than he was earlier. "You're the one they've been talking about, aren't you? I didn't believe it could be true…a human Intersect? This is extraordinary."

"Maybe for you," Chuck said. "But you have to understand, for me…for me it's a nightmare. Living with this thing in my head...it is not easy. People after me all the time, information I don't need, or want, constantly being forced into my mind. At least as a spy without the Intersect, I have some control over my life. Is there any way that the Intersect images can be taken out?"

"Can it be removed?" Busgang looked thoughtful. "I don't know, only Orion would know."

"Orion? Who is Orion?" Chuck asked, his flash still fresh in his head.

"It was his idea, his vision. Everything, all of it, is based on his work. He put the team together; he drove the research, until he realized the Government planned to put it into the heads of agents. It was never designed for such an outlandish purpose; it was designed simply to be an autonomous database. When Stephen found out what they were planning to do, he sabotaged the system and went into hiding. Left his entire family to keep them safe."

Chuck's face went bone white; he didn't move a muscle. A computer engineer named Stephen who was forced to go into hiding…coincidences happen, but this?

"What was his name?" Chuck asked, deadly serious.

Busgang noticed his change in demeanor. "Stephen…Stephen J. Bartowski."

Sarah put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my God,"


	10. Ch 10 Chuck vs the Sins of the Father

**A/N: Hey all, I'm still alive and kicking! Things should start speeding up here soon, so I'm hoping if not next week, then the week after I can be back to updating twice a week. I enjoyed this chapter a lot, and I included a small Mass Effect reference for anyone who manages to catch it! Thanks once again for all of the great reviews, you guys are absolutely awesome and a huge motivation for me! Reading your reviews always makes my day better, so please, keep it up! lol**

 **As usual, I do not own Chuck, though I very much wish I did. I am the owner of quite a few Navy Blue shirts, however, thanks to my job. If anyone cares. No? Imagine that. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 10

Chuck vs. the Sins of the Father

 _March 23, 2009_

 _2234 Pacific Time_

 _Casa de Bartowski-Grimes_

"This is everything I have so far," Chuck said, as he showed his homemade evidence map to Sarah and Casey. His hunt for Orion – _his father –_ had taken longer than he had anticipated. But displayed on the back of his beloved _Tron_ poster were all of the relevant facts he could find. They had decided not to go to Beckman, not yet. Not until they were sure that they could get Stephen into safe keeping and that Beckman wasn't going to shove him in some hole somewhere.

Chuck was reasonably sure that they could trust Beckman, but not enough to hang his own father out to dry, despite their past. Though he knew it shouldn't surprise him anymore, he had been astounded when Casey had agreed with him and decided not to go to his direct superior.

Chuck and Casey were now alone reviewing the evidence as Sarah came into the room. After eating breakfast that morning she had rushed into the bathroom and promptly emptied the contents of her stomach. Chuck had followed her in and held back her hair, soothingly running a hand along her back until she was done. After asking if she was ok, she simply waved him off with a smile and pulled out her toothbrush, saying she would be in in just a minute.

The door opened and Sarah walked in, looking no worse for wear despite her Morning Prayer session with the porcelain god.

"Are you ok, Sarah?" Chuck asked, quickly rushing over to her.

"I'm fine, Chuck. The hospital food just didn't agree with me last night, let's get to work. I was able to run a search on the mainframes in Castle," Sarah said. "I found this."

She held up a piece of paper with a single set of GPS coordinates.

"Sarah, that's treason," Chuck said, concerned.

"No, it's following a hunch and gathering Intel before reporting to my superiors." Sarah said mischievously.

Chuck smirked as entered the coordinates into his phone. "100 miles outside of Barstow…who's up for a road trip?" Chuck asked.

* * *

 _March 24, 2009_

 _1039 Pacific Time_

 _GPS Grid Coordinates: 35˚19'47.9" N, 115˚14'52.7" W_

 _Hidden Road in the Mojave Dessert_

Casey pulled the Crown Vic up to the old silver Airstream trailer. He stopped the car and got out, looking around.

"Pretty exposed…that's an advantage as much as a risk. Although, since we've never come close to catching Orion, I'm guessing he's more of an up-and-run kind of guy rather than dig-in-and-fight. Parking on a cliff means he has a good spot to rappel down unnoticed while they still think he's surrounded. Actually…" Casey trailed off as he walked around the backside of the trailer and looked down. "Ok, rappel point, but no rope. If he left he didn't leave that way."

Chuck took all this in silently. He stood staring at the trailer, unsure what to make of it. His father – _his_ father – was Orion. And he was possibly hiding in an old beat-up trailer thirty feet in front of him. Chuck took a deep breath and prepared to face whatever answers lay on the other side of that door. He began to step forward – and he froze; he couldn't do it, whatever lay on the other side of that door, he did not think he could face it.

Salvation presented itself in the form of Sarah. She was wearing a leather jacket and jeans, with her hair tied up in a bun behind her head. Chuck swore Sarah owned more outfits than any woman he had ever met, even Ellie who had a variety of outfits in just her _scrubs_ let alone her off-duty clothes. Sarah pressed her hand on his lower back.

"It'll be ok, Chuck. Casey and I are both right here with you." Sarah kissed him on the cheek.

"So uh, I guess you had to break a few rules, huh?" Chuck asked, hesitantly. "I appreciate it, don't get me wrong, but you didn't have to do that for me."

"Chuck, there is nothing I wouldn't do for you. Believe it or not, Casey feels the same. We're here, Chuck. Go on, knock."

Chuck took a deep breath. "I couldn't find him; the man didn't want to be found. I mean, you guys had to illegally access all of the government's databases to…"

"Chuck," Sarah interrupted. "It'll be good to see him. Yes, for your questions about the Intersect, but mostly for you."

Chuck looked at her, took a deep breath, and walked the rest of the way to the trailer. He knocked three times on the door, and waited. Casey joined them and waited to Chucks right, Sarah on his left. After a few moments, no one came and it seemed apparent that no one was going to.

"I'm sorry," Sarah said as she placed her hand on the back of his neck and rubbed it soothingly. Chuck looked at her sadly as Casey placed his large hand on his shoulder. Suddenly, the three jumped as the door quickly swung open.

"Dad?" Chuck asked. Standing before him was the man who had raised and then abandoned him. He was much more ragged than Chuck remembered, but other than that everything was the same – the same timid, paranoid demeanor, the same long, wispy blonde hair, and the same mousy eyes. "Dad, is that really you?"

"It's me, Charles." He said, after a pause. "Come in, son, we have a lot to discuss."

They all ambled inside and sat in the tiny kitchen/living room, shoulder to shoulder as Stephen Bartowski moved around the kitchen, preparing to make coffee.

"Dad, I promise, we're fine. We had breakfast this morning."

"Nonsense, Charles." Stephen said with his head still buried in the refrigerator. "You came all this way, I want to make you some coffee. I came up with some schematics once for a coffee pot that would brew 12-cups in less than thirty seconds. Unfortunately my designs were stolen before I could do anything with it."

Chuck shook his head in disbelief. _Same crazy old dad._

"Dad, I want to introduce my friends to you." When Stephen didn't pause, Chuck continued. "Dad, this is my good friend, John Casey, and my girlfriend, Sarah Walker." Chuck thought he heard his dad snort, but he couldn't tell over the sound of the moving jars and bottles in the kitchen. Stephen gave no outward sign that he heard him, however.

Chuck turned to Sarah. "I'm sort of freaking out here, Sarah."

"I know." She said. "But he's your father, and he seems happy to see you."

"You think?" Chuck said, snapping his head around. "I saw it more as just a lack of recognition followed by shock."

"You take cream?" Stephen called from the depths of the fridge.

"Huh?" Chuck asked, startled. "Yeah. No. Whatever's fine. Sarah, I can't even remember if I take cream." Chuck said in a rush.

"Just relax," She said, grabbing hold of his arm.

"How?" Chuck asked. "I haven't seen my dad for like, ten years, and now I'm sitting in his living room/kitchenette while he's making us coffee. Plus, let's just say the last I saw him he was kind of…I mean he tended to be a little, what's the word? Crazy." Chuck picked up a picture off the table, a side-by-side photo frame of him at bat during little league and Ellie smiling with her softball mitt.

Stephen walked over with four mugs of steaming coffee, and the three began to enjoy their beverages.

"So good to see that face again," Stephen said as he leaned against the counter.

Chuck laughed lightly. "Yeah, yours too. So uh, you been doing ok?"

"Who cares about me? Tell me about you."

"Uh, well, you know, there's not much to tell. Graduated from High School, went to Stanford…work at a Buy More." Chuck said.

"Stanford? Not bad." Stephen said, nodding in approval. "He was always a genius, this one."

Sarah smiled as she looked at him. Casey rolled his eyes.

"No, not like you." Chuck said, modestly.

"You're right. He was smarter." Stephen said proudly.

Stephen took a drink of his coffee as he collected his thoughts. "What about Ellie, how is she?"

"Oh she's great, actually, really great. She's a doctor now, and in a few weeks she's going to get married to, well, to an awesome guy." Chuck said.

"Ellie's getting married?" He asked.

"That's actually, mainly, why we're here. At least the first reason. Ellie was really hoping…I was really hoping…that you could come and walk her down the aisle." Chuck said.

"I don't think she would want me there," Stephen said, standing up and walking away.

"Of course she does, Dad! And so do I. You've been gone for so long Dad…we need you."

"It's not a good idea, Chuck. But tell her that I'm happy for her."

Chuck's jaw fell open; he could not believe what he was hearing.

"She's your daughter, don't you want to be there? Haven't you ever wanted to be there? Or are you too busy, being _Orion_?" Chuck asked, scathingly.

Stephen's head whipped around quickly. He said nothing, but simply looked at his son, frowning.

"Dad, you need to tell me everything you know about the Intersect, right now. The secrets, the lies…they end now. I'll start. Bryce Larkin prevented me from being recruited into the CIA in college, getting me expelled, in fact, so that it didn't happen. Five years later the Intersect ended up in my head, and John Casey from the NSA and Sarah Walker from the CIA were sent to protect me. A year after having it, I joined the CIA officially and became a full agent –"

"No!" Stephen yelled loudly. "Charles, I never wanted you to become a CIA agent…I ran and hid to protect you and Eleanor, I didn't like what the government was doing with the Intersect so I quit and I knew they'd always be after me. I always kept an eye on you though, on both of you. That's how I knew the CIA wanted to recruit you and why I convinced Bryce to prevent them from doing it." Stephen stopped talking and a deathly silence fell over the trailer.

"What did you just say?" Chuck asked quietly yet menacingly at the same time.

"I think your handlers should step outside for this, Charles." Stephen said uncertainly. "I don't trust the government."

"Dad, we can trust them. They aren't my handlers anymore, they're my partners. And more than that, Casey really is my friend and Sarah legitimately is my girlfriend. We can trust them."

"Then you're a fool, son. You should know better than to trust either of them, and if you don't know by now that seduction is one of the most effective tools in the female CIA agent's arsenal then you must not have been paying much attention."

Sarah and Casey tried to shrink into the couch as they could feel the anger emanating from Chuck – Stephen had clearly crossed a line. Chuck stood up to his full height, towering over his father.

"Don't you ever, _ever_ insult Sarah or Casey again, Dad. Sarah is not like other CIA agents, Dad. She has never once used sex to complete her mission, she told me that and I believe her completely because that's how it works when you are in a relationship. Don't you dare insinuate that she has done anything so derogatory. And besides, even if she had, it was in the service of her country. On top of that, both of these two amazing people behind me have put their lives on the line time and time again for me directly and for everyone in this goddamn county, so do not belittle that, ever again. I trust these two with every bit of my life and soul, a lot more than I trust you with it."

Stephen stood and looked at the wall, incised, but clearly cowed by his son's words. After several long, tense minutes Stephen took a deep breath and spoke.

"Fine, son. You're right, I haven't been there for you and I don't blame you for not trusting me. If you trust them then I will have to take your word for it, I owe you that much. Sit down, and I will tell you everything you want to know."

Chuck sat back down on the couch and Sarah placed her hand gently on his knee to soothe him. He covered her hand with his own in appreciation. Stephen pulled a chair around from the kitchen and sat down facing them.

"First question, dad. If you know so much about our lives, how did you not know that I had become a CIA agent?" Chuck asked, his curiosity at his father's reaction getting the better of him.

"That was my doing, Chuck." Casey said, proudly. "Did you not think it was strange that no one ever once referred to you by name while you were at the Farm, or that you were in a barracks completely to yourself? Even in the CIA, that doesn't happen. We went through quite a lot of trouble registering you under multiple different identities so that even the people training you didn't have a clue who you were. No one outside of this trailer, Bryce Larkin, and General Beckman know that you're now an Agent. Even your paychecks go into my account first where I then transfer them to my 'extra' savings account."

"Wow, Casey. That must have taken quite a bit of work. I'm impressed." Chuck said. Casey shrugged sheepishly. After all, logistics and computer forgery weren't exactly John Casey's specialties – those lie in shooting and blowing things up.

"Well, that solves that mystery." Stephen said. "So…the Intersect. As I suspect you know from talking with Howard, I came up with the idea and created the team, the resources, everything. But when I found out what the government was planning on doing, I could not sit by and let it happen. So I hid. I ran. I watched you and Ellie from far away, never able to come back to you if I was going to keep you safe. It…destroyed me. Every minute that I was away from you two was torture, but I cannot express how proud I am of the two of you for coming through like you did. No other kids could have done it, that I am sure of. And despite your recent career ambitions Chuck, even after what I did to prevent this…I'm still extremely proud of you son – and all you've done." Stephen took a deep breath, wiping his eye as he complained unconvincingly about the dust in the trailer.

"When I had heard that the Intersect had been downloaded into a human host – successfully – I couldn't believe it. I did everything I could to find out the identity of the poor soul who had it in his head…you can imagine my shock and outrage when I found out it was you. But it's ok, son. I know how we can take it out, I just need access to your government resources, and we can get it removed from your head."

Chuck looked uncertainly at his father. They had reached the point he had been dreading – the moment he must decide if he still wanted the Intersect or if he wanted it removed. He loved what the Intersect allowed him to do but at the same time...it was hell not knowing what would may or may not trigger a flash. He couldn't even spend a peaceful day with his sister or his girlfriend without some flash or another being triggered most days. He decided to stall.

"Is that possible, Dad? How?" Chuck asked.

"Yes, son, it's possible. The how…is a little bit more complicated. Have I ever told you about my college roommate?" Chuck shook his head no. "My roommate's name was Ted Roark. And now that you know I'm not crazy, yes, he really has been stealing my designs for years. And this includes the Intersect. What I'm about to tell you is going to sound crazy…but Ted Roark has been building an Intersect, and his components are housed within the complex of his downtown headquarters."

Once again, stunned silence fell over the trailer, only this time there was a high amount of skepticism infused into it.

"Dad, there's no way that's possible. Why do you think that?" Chuck asked, despondent as he began to wonder if maybe his dad really was crazy.

Instead of answering, Stephen just walked off into the back bedroom leaving his three house guests stunned.

"Way to go, Bartowski. You spooked, uh, Bartowski." Casey said.

"Guys, I'll be honest, I don't know what the fuck is happening or going to happen next…so yeah, be ready, I guess." Chuck trailed off, clearly uncertain as to what to do next.

Stephen came back quickly with bundles of paper in his arms. He laid them out on the table and Chuck quickly recognized them as blueprints for computer components. Stephen picked up one compacted yet complete looking design on a transparent sheet – the kind they used to make for overhead projectors.

"This is the design schematic for the Intersect computer," Stephen began before picking up a color map with a legend on it. "This is the visitors map for Roark Instrument Headquarters in L.A." Stephen laid the two pictures on top of each other and there was a collective intake of breath from the other side of the table. It was a perfect match.

"Dad…this is…this is unbelievable! We have to tell Beckman, now!" Chuck said, standing as if to demonstrate the urgency.

"No, you can't tell her you've talked to me! Aside from trying and failing to hunt me down again, she'll haul all three of you in for treason. Here, use this, son." Stephen handed Chuck a blue post card and he looked it over, seeing an advertisement for the launch party of Roark's new operating system.

Chuck's eyelids fluttered. _Mountains by a lake. Computer components. Rios, Roark Instruments, Virus. Fulcrum. Mountains by a lake._

"Well, that'll do it." Chuck said.

"You need to add some information to the flash though, Son. I'm assuming it didn't say anything about an Intersect?" Chuck nodded. "Ok, so tell her that you saw the schematic and the map next to each other in the flash, and take it from there. The CIA is going to tell you something about a virus in the software, but it doesn't work, I already disabled it. Use this as your in, and then get to this room and steal the Intersect cube." Stephen said, pointing it out on his blueprints. "After you have that, I can get a program together and we can remove the Intersect."

Chuck looked at his father with disbelief in his eyes, but at the same time, it all made sense. He had the proof staring him in the face, and his flash confirmed it. He had no choice but to trust his father – a concept he was definitely not used to.

* * *

 _March 25, 2009_

 _1300 Pacific Time_

 _Castle_

"It seems Chuck's flash matches a lot of chatter we've been hearing about Roark Instruments lately. The CIA now believes Ted Roark's latest software may contain a virus that, if released, could cause irreparable damage to the world's computer networks. Mr. Bartowski, we have a mission that is right up your alley, you will be sent in as a new RI employee. You will see if you flash on anyone or anything. Your interview is in two hours." Beckman finished and prepared to terminate the conference.

"General, just a moment." Chuck said, before she could press the button. She paused and scowled at him. "General, as I said I looked at the code myself and someone has been in the software to prevent the virus, and they don't seem to have noticed this yet. What about the rest of my flash, that Roark has an Intersect?" Chuck asked eagerly.

"Ah yes, a giant Intersect that is housed within the entire complex itself? We have dismissed that claim." Beckman said, waving her hand absentmindedly. "There just isn't anyway that that can be possible Chuck, my scientists have assured me. Good luck on your interview." She said as she ended the conference before she could hear anymore pointless interruptions.

Chuck turned to his partners who merely shrugged.

"About the best you could have expected, Bartowski. Let's get to work." Casey said.

They gathered up around the main table in Castle and laid out their vast collection of recently acquired blueprints for Roark Instruments. They had already been studying them for the last few hours before the briefing, and they were beginning to narrow down the best path to the Intersect Room. Chuck walked over to the computer and ensured that they were in electronic lockdown – no signals could make it in or out of Castle so they could review sensitive Intel. The computer blinked a green status light at him, but he still covered all the cameras in the room with various articles of clothing just to be sure.

"Little paranoid there, Bartowski?" Casey sneered at him.

"Unless you really want to deal with Beckman's pissed off face when she finds out we're going off-mission, I think you'll forgive me a little paranoia." Chuck said, patiently.

Casey muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like the word pussy. Chuck ignored him and continued reviewing the plans. He sat down, memorizing every hallway, office and electrical closet that he found on the plans. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he was aware that his partners had moved back and forth from the table several times as he sat there. Soon, he felt a soft hand grip his elbow.

"Chuck, sweetie, are you ok?" Sarah shifted her grip, sliding both of her hands under his arms as she rested her chin on his shoulder. Chuck leaned back into her as he continued looking at the plans.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just getting as prepared as possible. In the zone, you know how it is." Chuck said.

Sarah squeezed him. "At least you haven't broken out the Chardonnay yet, Piranha." Her tone was light, her eyes ablaze with laughter.

"I see you've been talking to Morgan." Chuck said with a laugh.

"Well, I figured it's high time I started getting closer with your best friend. I am going to be around for a while, after all." Sarah said happily.

Chuck put down the pen he had been holding and placed both of his hands over Sarah's. "I like the sound of that."

"Good, me too. But I wasn't talking about the mission when I asked if you were ok. You had a major development in your relationship with your father, unless you've forgotten already. How are you holding up?"

Chuck paused for a few minutes as he considered his feelings. Despite the fact that their meeting today had gone nowhere close to how he had imagined it over the last several years, he was happy to see his father again. And he was even happier to know that he had a legitimate reason for leaving them, even if it didn't matter in the end.

"I'm…alright, all things considered. Honestly. It's going to take a long time for us to repair things and get back to any sort of real family, but at this point I'm just happy that he's alive. And I'm definitely happy that he got to meet you."

Sarah smiled and kissed his cheek as she pulled him to his feet. "Come on, we need to get you dressed for your interview." Sarah paused as she put a hand to her mouth, rushing off to the bathroom with a short apology about the hospital food still acting up.

* * *

 _March 25, 2009_

 _1535 Pacific Time_

 _Roark Instruments_

Chuck followed Drew around the corner of RI as they continued the tour of the building.

"And around here you'll find…" Drew trailed off as the doors down the hall opened and out stepped Ted Roark himself, surrounded by a swarm of employees. Chuck wasn't sure if his opinion was swayed because of his father's Intel, his father's past with Roark, or if maybe his spydey senses were tingling, but something just seemed _off_ about Roark.

"Hey Ted, this is Chuck, our new employee." Drew said with a smile.

"Hey! Welcome to RI." Roark shook his hand genially. _Well, he's certainly friendly,_ Chuck thought.

"Never wash that hand again," Roark said, pointing at their joined hands. _Ahh friendly but smug, great combination._ The staff members laughed as Roark enjoyed the attention.

Chuck smiled. "Oh, I never will sir."

"No sirs around here," Roark said, looking around before indicating one of the women in his group. "Except her." Everyone burst out laughing again, clearly used to Roark's antics, as Chuck joined in awkwardly.

"Okay, Ted. Just wanted to say it's an honor to be here at your company."

"Oh, easy big boy you already got the gig! Ready to take over the world?" Roark asked.

 _Very funny jackass, too bad my dad has already beaten you._

Chuck smiled as the group left, and Drew left him alone to explore some more as he left with Roark, giving Chuck an ID before he left to allow him access. As soon as he was alone, he held his watch to his lips.

"Alright guys, I'm alone and starting on some recon."

" _Roger, Chuck. We're still in the cameras, thanks to you. We'll watch your back. Your tie is crooked, though."_ Sarah said in his ear. He rolled his eyes and fixed it, looking up at the nearest camera and holding up his hands as he turned for them like a fashion model.

" _Much better, smartass. Now get to work before I tell Ellie it was you that ripped her favorite sweater while you tried to get it off me the day I borrowed it, and that I did not, in fact, get it caught on the door getting out of my Porsche."_ Sarah's tone told him she was not bluffing and he practically ran down the hallway as she laughed in his ear.

Chuck procceded down several corridors from memory, finally finding the one that his father believed to house the Intersect room. He walked down to a reinforced door with a large panel next to it that displayed scrolling sequences of numbers. There was a small window in the door and he peeked through it. On the other side, he saw a large table dominating an all-white room, with several technicians inside. In the center of the table was a large cylinder that housed the rotating Intersect Cube.

"Sarah, I found it. Security is pretty tight though."

"Can you get in?" Sarah asked.

Chuck looked more closely at the panel and felt his eyes roll into the back of his head. _Two fluorescent microbes under a microscope. The correct sequence and location of numbers to select on the keypad. Two fluorescent microbes under a microscope._

"Wow. Yeah…yeah, I can get past it, Sarah. I could use a diversion though, any ideas?" Chuck asked, still surprised that he was able to pull that flash out.

" _Hmm…I'm thinking…pineapple."_ Sarah said, mischievously.

"Pineapple, here? Sarah Walker, I like your style. Give me thirty seconds and do it."

Chuck ran down the hallway to the janitorial closet and dodged inside. Seconds later, the alarms began blaring.

" _Okay, Chuck, I think you're clear. Five techs just came out of the room, how many did you see?"_

"Five, we should be good." Chuck said as he cracked the door open, peering down the hallway. Finding it empty, he dodged outside and went back to the keypad. He tapped in the correct sequence and the door hissed open. Chuck slipped inside and two screens popped out on either side of the table. Back-lit with the red lights from the fire alarms, the table reminded him of the battleship scene from _Batman Forever._ Chuck smiled as he sat down at one of the stations and began forcing his way into their systems.

"Okay…and…done!" Chuck said to Sarah. He hit enter and uploaded his Trojan horse virus, simultaneously siphoning their systems into the CIA database and wiping their own at the same time. Chuck stood and disconnected the cube cylinder from the table, sliding the assembly into his empty laptop bag. He slipped out the door and headed back down the empty hallway at a jog.

"Sarah, are there any crowds I can slip into left in the building?" Chuck asked into his watch.

" _Several groups are still working their way down the stairs from the top floors. If you hurry, you can join in and get lost in the crowd."_ Chuck did as she said and found the aforementioned crowd still in the stairs when he got there. He made it to the ground floor and joined the swelling crowd in the parking lot, making a clean break for his Camaro and radioing to Sarah to meet him back at Castle.

* * *

 _March 25_ _th_ _, 2009_

 _1806 Pacific Time_

 _Casa de Bartowski-Walker-Grimes_

"Perfect Chuck, really well done!" His father exclaimed as he inspected the cube. "I told you I wasn't crazy. Now we can start preparing to take that program out of your head."

Chuck was standing in the kitchen while his father sat at the breakfast nook. Sarah in the living room, watching the father and son as they talked. He caught Sarah's eye and gave her a meaningful look before he pressed on.

"I'm not so sure yet, Dad. Yes, I wanted it out before, but that was before I was a spy. I just don't know yet what I want to do." Chuck said.

"Son, this thing was not designed to go into someone's brain. That is not what I had in mind when I came up with the idea. And what's more, I don't want you being a spy either, that's the entire reason I left in the first place! I wanted you and your sister as far away from this life as possible."

Chuck's cheeks began to flush as the anger rose up inside him. "You don't want me in the spy life? Well maybe you should have thought of that before you left with no explanation, Dad! Maybe if you wanted any say in what I did with my life, you should have stayed around and trusted that we would have figured things out."

Stephen rose form his chair and prepared to respond to Chuck's argument, but he was interrupted as the door flung open wide. Both Sarah and Chuck began reaching for their weapons, but they froze when they saw Ellie enter the room, followed closely by Devon and John Casey who was clearly trying to stall her.

"John, we can talk about the therapeutic effects of a bonsai tree later, right now…I'm….starving. Dad?" Ellie's jaw dropped and her eyes went as wide as Chuck had ever seen them go. How could he forget they were supposed to have dinner tonight? Chuck berated himself internally as he stared at his sister.

"Hello Eleanor!" Stephen said in a brave stab at friendliness.

Ellie said nothing, she simply stood and stared. Chuck tensed and Sarah walked to Ellie, gripping her arm to try and break her stupor. Devon appeared just as stunned as the rest of them and Casey very conspicuously evacuated the area, fleeing as fast as he could from the stampede of lady feelings that appeared inevitable.

"Ellie? Ellie, say something." Sarah said softly. Chuck felt a rash of gratitude towards his girlfriend, an emotion he seemed to experience on an almost daily if not hourly basis lately.

Ellie finally closed her mouth. "Pancakes." She said loudly.

Chuck furrowed his brow in confusion as Stephen looked scared.

"Oh boy." Stephen whispered.

"You said you were gonna make pancakes!" Ellie said, and Chuck could hear the beginning notes of Hurricane Ellie brewing in her voice, and found it strange that the public address sirens weren't blaring yet.

"Where have you been? You left me, you left us! You left your two kids – _children_ – to fend for themselves, right after your wife did! And now you show up in Chuck's apartment without any warning? I had better hear a damn good explanation here, Dad! Well?"

When Stephen stumbled over his words as he tried to answer, Ellie simply walked up to him, slapped him – hard – and turned on her heel, storming out of the apartment.

"Ellie!" Chuck yelled, breaking the stunned silence. Awesome left to follow his fiancé and Chuck and Sarah looked at one another while his father lightly touched his cheek.

"Well, that probably went better than I deserved." Stephen said softly.

"Dad, you have to tell her the truth. She deserves to know just like I did. You don't have to tell her everything – in fact, don't do that. I don't want her to know that I'm a spy. But tell her why you left, that there was a reason, and make her believe it. I'll go talk to her first, and calm her down." Chuck walked from the kitchen and Sarah interlaced her fingers with his.

"I'll go with you, Chuck. I've had my fair share of parental issues, maybe I can help."

Chuck kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks, Sarah. Dad, feel free to help yourself to anything you need."

The two left the apartment, but stopped dead on the doorstep. Through Ellie's window they saw John Casey, of all people, holding Ellie as she cried as Devon looked helplessly on.

* * *

John Casey struggled to resist grunting at the predicament he found himself in. Throughout his life, he always shied away from feelings and emotions, with the exception being Kathleen, his first love. She was the only person who had been able to coax out the well-hidden proof that he was not simply a soldier. Until now, that is.

 _Damn you Bartowskis,_ Casey thought. He didn't know what it was about this family, but Ellie, Chuck and even the pretty-boy doctor along with Walker, had opened up some long hidden flood gate inside of him, and he was feeling emotions he hadn't felt in years. And he was well and truly pissed off about it.

Despite his anger at putting his feelings out on display, however, he simply could not stand by and watch as Ellie Bartowski cried – especially when he knew that he probably caused some of these same tears to fall from Kathleen's eyes all those years ago.

So, here he sat; a Major in the United States Marine Corps and an operative for the National Security Agency, and now apparently he was adding 'shoulder to cry on' to the list. John mentally shook his head as he began to speak.

"Look, Ellie. I won't pretend to know what you're feeling right now. In fact," he gave a nervous chuckle, "I probably know least of anybody here. But what I do know, is I've been on the other side of these feelings. Quite a few years ago, when I was young and stupid, I was in love with a woman named Kathleen. She meant the world to me. But one day, I was asked to serve, and this meant leaving Kathleen behind. It was hard, harder than anything I had ever done in my life, including boot camp at Paris Island. But you know what, I did it to serve, to give other people the chance to live the life that I was giving up. I know this is going to be hard for you to believe, but your dad left for a reason, and he left for very similar reasons to why I left my girlfriend behind. Please, give him a chance to explain, and just know he did what he did for you."

Ellie looked up at the gruff man holding her, and was clearly shocked at his words. It could be that she had never heard the man speak that much before, or maybe the fact that they had never shared so much as a handshake and now he sat holding her while she cried. But despite everything that had happened in the last few minutes, Ellie smiled.

"John's right, Ellie. You don't know anything about why your dad left. Give him a chance to explain, and even if it doesn't satisfy anything, I'll be right there with you. We all will." Devon said.

Almost as if to prove his point, the front door opened and Sarah and Chuck walked in. Sarah rushed to her side and Casey silently thanked her for extricating him from that duty. He walked away from the couch while the two women held each other and headed over to Devon and Chuck.

"Thanks for that, John. I've never heard you talk so much before, but that seemed to really help. I had no idea about any of that." Devon said in awe.

"Yeah, seriously, thanks Case. I would never have expected to see you do that." Chuck said, also shocked.

"Don't get used to it mor – Chuck. Your lady feelings are just infectious, that's all. I'm over it." Casey said gruffly as he walked over to the fridge to get himself a drink. The table was already said with food on it, and Casey paused to sniff at the food appreciatively.

The door opened and Stephen Bartowski stepped inside.

"Ellie, I'm sorry for springing myself on you like that. Can we talk?" He asked, timidly.

"We'll give you guys a minute." Casey said immediately. Walker and Devon joined him, as they headed out to the courtyard.

"So Casey…Chuck's finally rubbing off on you, huh?" Sarah asked, teasing him.

"Stow it, Walker. I'm not an unfeeling robot you know. I just know how to keep it contained when it's important, unlike you." Casey snarled.

"That's not healthy to keep things bottled up like that, John." Devon said. Casey had momentarily forgotten the doctor had joined them, and he let the subject lie. After a few more minutes, Devon spoke once more.

"How do you think it's going in there?"

"Well, nothing's been broken yet, so that's a good sign." Sarah replied. Fifteen minutes later, the front door opened. Ellie, now dressed in scrubs, stepped out and looked at the party holding vigil in the courtyard.

"I got called in to work. Things are by no means good, but we talked. I'll talk to you more when I get home, sweetie." She said as she kissed Devon on the cheek. She left without another word, and the group headed back into the apartment.

"Almost seems wrong to eat without the chef, but it'd be a shame to put such a good meal to waste." Casey said as he sat down. Sarah glared at him for making that his first priority, but the group began to amble over to the table, choosing to join him.

"How'd it go?" Sarah asked as Devon hovered nearby.

"About as well as could be expected," Chuck said. "He told her in general terms why he left, and after she got over the shock she was beginning to accept it before she got called in. She's still angry, but I think things will be ok."

With that happy news, they sat down and began to eat the delicious meal Ellie had prepared. Halfway through dinner, however, all hell broke loose.

As Casey was savoring his mashed potatoes and gravy, a cacophony of beeping and flashing began from Chuck's, Casey's, and Sarah's watches and cell phones, and a strange computer/cell phone contraption mounted on Stephen's wrist began blinking a warning as well. Casey briefly had time to register that the contraption on the elder Bartowski's wrist looked an awful lot like the cellphone rig Chuck was so fond of before the door inched open and a small metal cylinder was tossed inside, bouncing twice before settling near the table.

Casey's brain quickly caught up with his mouth. "GRENADE!" He yelled loudly, as Chuck pulled Sarah to the ground, and Devon and Stephen scattered in different directions. Luckily it was only a flashbang, but despite preparing for its effects, Casey still felt the bone-jarring explosion and was disoriented for several moments. When he regained his composure, he took a quick survey of his surroundings – judging from the obvious evidence of the darts sticking out from all of their bodies, they had been tranqued as well with no way to tell how much time had passed. The table was knocked over and food was splattered everywhere. Chuck and Sarah lay on the ground still, groggily shaking their heads as they shook off the effects of the grenade followed by the tranqs. Casey's long field experience with tranqs plus his larger body bulk allowed him to shake off the effects earlier. Devon was shakily beginning to stand, his face white as a sheet. Casey had to do a second more detailed glance to be sure – Stephen Bartowski was no longer in the apartment.

"Chuck! Your dad!" Casey yelled as he charged to his feet. The other spies needed no additional prompting as they followed suit, pulling their weapons as they charged for the remnants of the shattered door. As they piled into the courtyard, they were just able to glimpse the squealing tires of a large black van with Roark Instruments splashed on the side before it disappeared into the night. They sprinted for their cars, only to find the tires on all five vehicles in the parking lot – including theirs – were slashed. Pounding feet sounded behind them and they all spun, pointing their guns at the new threat. A startled Devon jumped, throwing his hands in the air.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" He screamed.

Chuck lowered his gun. "Shit. Devon, don't freak out."

* * *

 _March 25, 2009_

 _2107_

 _Casa de Casey_

Chuck, Casey and Sarah sat around Casey's table, Chuck using his computers to hack into surveillance satellites as Awesome paced back and forth.

"This is so not cool bro, we really need to call the police." He said for the thousandth time in an hour.

"No, we already told you Devon, no police." Sarah said.

"But why? Whoever they are, they tried to kill us and kidnapped your dad. You still haven't told me that, or why any of you have _guns_. Why are we not reporting this to the police?" Devon demanded.

"Because we are the police, Devon!" Chuck yelled, losing his temper completely.

" _Chuck!_ "

"Moron!"

Clearly his partners were not pleased, but he had more pressing problems at the moment.

"Guys, if you have a better story to tell him, then have at it. Anyone? Bueller?"

Casey and Sarah were silent and stared at their feet.

"That's what I thought. He can handle this. Devon, for the last two years I have been a high-level CIA asset and Casey and Sarah were assigned as my handlers. Long story short, I'm now an agent for the CIA, and the men that took my dad tonight have been after him for years. We can't call the police because the government has been infiltrated and we can't trust the police. We need to do this on our own. Do you understand? You can handle this right, tell me you can handle this?"

Devon was frozen in shock. "You're being serious?"

"Devon, I need you to be cool about this. A team is going to come clean the apartment and I need you to cover for us with Ellie, okay? I need you to be awesome. Can you be awesome?" Chuck asked.

"You're a spy, Chuck?" Devon asked, clearly still shocked.

"Yes, Devon. We all are. And we need to get to work, can you do this for me?"

"This…this is awesome! I knew you weren't a loser working at a Buy More! Yeah!" Devon's infectious excitement brought a reluctant smile to Chuck's face – before he looked at his partners and remembered what they needed to do.

After a short but heated conversation, Chuck convinced Devon to head back to his apartment and wait for the cleaner teams.

After a few minutes of arguing over where to look, Chuck headed back to his apartment with Sarah to gear up and get ready to start searching. With no real idea of where they went, Chuck knew they were grasping at straws but they didn't have much other choice. Chuck walked into his room with Sarah and immediately stripped out of his nice dinner clothes, sliding open the hidden compartment in their closet and revealing their mission clothing behind their normal clothes.

He paused as the panel moved out of the way, looking down at his feet while he rested his hand on the door frame. Suddenly, Chuck gave into his frustration and pounded his fist against the frame.

"Chuck…" Sarah said softly as she appeared at his side, lightly gripping his arm. "Talk to me, Chuck. We're going to get him back, I promise."

Chuck turned to face her, as usual her angelic face calming him despite her worried frown. Chuck leaned back against the door frame, pulling Sarah in close. She responded in kind, pressing her body in tight and leaning her forehead against his.

"Why can't life just be easy for once? Is a normal dinner so much to ask?" Chuck asked exasperatedly.

"You know Chuck, this pretty handsome kick-ass spy once said something to me. I don't think we'll ever be normal. Unfortunately, it looks like you were right and this is about as normal as it's going to get for us. We're going to make it through this, though. Together, like we always do."

Chuck smiled and kissed her. "Thank you, Sarah. Sorry for the melodramatic freak-out there. Just a little on edge with my dad being back and all, you know? And now before we can even start to figure stuff out he gets taken again. I guess this just underlines why he went into hiding in the first place."

"Well, let's go get him back then, and fix this." Sarah said, her tone leaving no room for argument. Sarah pushed herself away from him and sauntered into the closet, making a show of stripping down to her barest layers. When Chuck tried to kiss her, she pushed him back, and grabbed a set of black thermal-regulating undergarments. She dulled the sting of her rejection by kissing him soundly once more, then silently began to get dressed.

Chuck followed suit, putting on his own pair of the undergarments which would help obscure his thermal signature from any cameras that their enemies may be using. On top of those, he put on a pair of blue jeans and a long-sleeve navy blue _Star Wars_ shirt with the symbol of the rebellion on the left chest. Sarah laughed and rolled her eyes at him as she pulled on her own pair of jeans. They weren't necessarily skintight, but they certainly accentuated her slender legs and shapely rear. She smirked as they left Chuck visibly frozen for a few moments.

"See anything you like, Chuck?" Sarah asked.

He shook his head like a dog after a bath. "Sorry, Sarah. I swear I've gotten better about that, but you still shut my brain down from time to time."

She kissed him on the cheek. "That's the way it should be."

Chuck smiled as she pulled on a nice white blouse and buttoned it. He lifted her dark green tactical vest off the floor and made sure the steel plates inside where secured before handing it to her and doing the same with his own. Next came a riggers belt with a thigh holster that they helped each other fasten on their legs before sliding their respective weapons into the holsters, sound/flash suppressors sticking out the end. They each fastened a similar pouch on their left thighs, Chuck's containing his mini-laptop, cables and other electronic equipment; Sarah's contained a quick-access medical kit. After checking all of their pouches and ensuring all of their gear was in their preferred locations, they attached Velcro patches to the front and rear of their vests – impersonating members of the DEA today. They attached their helmets to the rear of their backpacks, wanting them in case they ended up in a firefight but not wanting the extra weight on their heads sooner than they had to. Sarah pulled her hair into a ponytail and stuck it through the opening in the back of her khaki hat with an American Flag patch on the front. Chuck chose a black fitted Comic-Con hat and placed it backwards on his head. To top it off, they each donned a pair of OD green ear protector/radios. These were similar to the ones he used for shooting practice, in that they had a small microphone to pick up ambient noise and which turned off when noise spiked above a certain decibel. In this case, however, they had a boom microphone as well, and a wire led into the communications hub, which then led to the large encrypted radios on their back.

Chuck and Sarah assisted hooking each other up, and then checked each other over to make sure everything was secure and they weren't forgetting anything. As a final measure, Chuck attached a second holster with his tranq gun to the front of his vest. Sarah lifted two rifles from their arsenal, handing Chuck a suppressed HK 417 rifle, keeping a Remington R11 RSASS semi-automatic sniper rifle for herself. Casey was usually the better marksman, but lately he's been in more of a run and gun type of mood. Chuck laughed to himself as he considered the ever-changing shooting moods that Casey went through in a month - he swore Casey was worse about that than Sarah was with her shoe preference, but he would never tell either of them that. Chuck was pouring over the GPS readings of the area again when the computer beeped three times, the telltale warning of an incoming conference from General Beckman.

"I'll take it in the living room, Chuck. You keep working on that." Chuck nodded his thanks and kept working.

* * *

Sarah walked into the living room and flipped the TV on. General Beckman filled the screen.

"Agent Walker, this situation is out of hand. Stand down immediately."

"General?" Sarah was thoroughly confused.

"You went behind my back, found Orion, neglected to tell me that you found Orion _or_ his identity and relationship to the Intersect. Further, you ignored your orders and proceeded on an unsanctioned sub-mission that I specifically told you to ignore, and on top of all of that you have now lost Orion. I cannot allow you three to go wandering around Los Angeles on your own trying to save him and causing who knows what kind of trouble." Beckman was clearly furious.

Sarah wanted to argue the point, but the fact that she was fully decked out in tactical gear would not have helped her to persuade Beckman that they were in control.

"It's over, Walker. The Human Intersect Project has become too hard to control. I can't afford to wonder anymore if this team or Chuck Bartowski is a liability. Chuck is going into lockdown and the two of you will report to Fort Meade immediately."

Sarah bristled. "You're making a mistake, General!"

"I have made my decision, Agent Walker. For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Beckman did indeed look apologetic, but whether it was genuine or not was another matter.

As Sarah's panic deepened, she switched tactics. "General, Chuck isn't going to go down without a fight, you know he won't."

"That's why there won't be one." Beckman said solemnly. "Chuck trusts you and Casey, Sarah. He believes you would never betray him. Use that. Go to Chuck, tell him that we intercepted his father and that he's back at Castle. Major Casey has already been briefed, he will be waiting there and he will tranq Chuck. Then you will both wait for the extraction team to arrive for his transfer. He will be safe and you will return to your job. For his own safety, even you will not know where he is. I expect you to remember your duty, here. That is all."


	11. Chapter 11 Chuck and Sarah vs the Stick

**A/N: Most important note first, I updated a very small paragraph in Ch. 10 but it changed what happens in this chapter dramatically. If you want to read the paragraph, it is when they were attacked during dinner and Stephen was kidnapped. If you don't want to read it, the gist of the update is that in addition to the flashbang, they all were tranqed as well.**

 **Next, sorry for still being so slow on updates right now. Underestimated how life would be at the moment, but on the bright side, I have passed my state test and am officially a paramedic now, so pretty pumped about that. Updates are coming, and were coming up on a chapter that I have been excited about for a long time, a scene I sort of envisioned before I even considered writing fanfiction.**

 **Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and as always thanks so much for reading and for reviewing! I practically live for your reviews and am really happy that you guys enjoy reading this as much as I love writing it. On that note, based on some of the reviews I could probably use a beta reader to bounce ideas off of...if anyone is interested, give me a shoutout.**

 **Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Chapter 11

Chuck and Sarah vs. the Stick

 _March 25, 2009_

 _2227 Pacific Time_

 _Casa de Bartowski-Walker-Grimes_

The screen went black once more and Sarah stood stock still, stunned into disbelief. She had no idea what to say or where to go – but she knew what she needed to do. Her brain finally regaining control of her body, she half ran, half walked to their room. She burst through the door to find Chuck standing, staring blankly at the wall. Sarah was unsure what had him so catatonic but they would have to talk and run, they didn't have time for this.

"Chuck, we have to go." Sarah rushed up to him and put her mouth close to his ear. Technically, there weren't supposed to be any recording devices in their home but Sarah didn't trust the NSA to follow the rules where the Intersect was concerned.

"Chuck," Sarah whispered. "Beckman wants to shut us down. We need to run and we need to run now." As she whispered this, her eyes flicked to his computer monitor and saw a blank screen with the words 'Conference terminated: 2220, General D. Beckman' emblazoned in red. Chuck had seen the conference.

"After everything we've done, they want to throw me in a bunker?" Chuck asked, his voice deadly calm.

"Chuck, we can talk about this in a minute but it won't take them long to realize we're running, so let's move, now." Sarah said desperately.

Chuck, hearing the desperation in her voice and perhaps realizing that she was picking him over her career, followed her immediately. They jumped out the Morgan door but instead of going to either of their cars they sprinted to the alley and stopped at the first generic car they found, a navy blue Toyota Camry. Sarah lifted her rifle and made to break the window with the butt before Chuck grabbed her elbow and stopped her. She gave him a curious look.

"Sarah, this is Mrs. Vanderbilt's car, we can't break the window, she's eighty-five years old!"

Sarah rolled her eyes, but kissed him on the cheek. "That's sweet Chuck, but we're about to steal it, I think a broken window is the least of her concerns."

"Well no one's coming for us yet, it'd be a little conspicuous driving down the street with a broken window." Chuck said testily.

"Fine Chuck." Sarah conceded as she pulled her lock pick set. Chuck pulled his tranq gun and covered her as she worked.

"Got it, get in." They got in the car and Sarah hotwired it quickly before they set off into the night. They rode in silence for the first half hour, each considering their own thoughts about the situation. Chuck reached his hand over to Sarah's which was resting on the center counsel and interlaced his fingers with hers. After another ten minutes of silent hand holding, Chuck finally spoke.

"Sarah…I love you, and thank you for this but…are you sure? This is treason, you can go back, tell them I was eavesdropping and I ran and y – " Chuck never finished his sentence as Sarah grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

"Chuck Bartowski, we are in this together. You will never, ever go along that line of thinking again, you hear me? I'm pretty sure you're it for me Chuck, so don't get any ideas of me going anywhere without you. Now," Sarah trailed off as she pulled off on the next exit.

Chuck was lost in thought at Sarah's words, and only half payed attention as they drove, his spy senses paying far more attention than he was. _You're it for me Chuck._ That was what she had said…Chuck knew that she loved him, but to hear speak with such finality about their relationship brought him to a whole new level of elation. Chuck finally was pulled from his musings as Sarah pulled into an abandoned field, stopped the car, opened the door…and promptly proceeded to puke all over the grass.

"Sarah?" Chuck exclaimed as he jumped from the car, running to her as she was bent over double in the field, continuing to vomit. She had held up her hand, indicating that she was fine. Chuck emphatically ignored her.

"Sarah, I'm worried about you. You've been sick for three days now. And don't give me any crap about hospital food!" Chuck said sharply as she opened her mouth to wave him off. To soften the blow of his tone, he walked up and held Sarah as she appeared to be done for now.

"Talk to me, Sarah. What's going on?"

"Chuck…I don't want to worry you." She said feebly.

"Well, I hate to break it to you honey but it's too late for that." Chuck said with a smile.

"Chuck, I'm late." She said in exasperation.

"Late for what? Are we meeting someone? You didn't say anything about a rendezvous point." Chuck asked, confused.

"No, Chuck. I'm late. Me, personally, just me. My period is late." She finished up seriously.

Chuck's draw dropped open. He was truly and completely shocked, his mind was completely blank. Not a single word presented itself to his brain or his mind as Sarah watched him apprehensively, clearly nervous to see him so closed off.

"Chuck….I'm sorry. I know this is the worst possible timing. We have so much to worry about as it is with Fulcrum and your dad and Beckman and everything, and now I've sprung this on you. This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you, I knew you would – " Sarah was cut off as Chuck wrapped her in a hug so tight, her eyes began to bulge. Chuck spun her around in a circle and set her down, kissing her fiercely. Sarah tried to push him away.

"Gross, Chuck, I just puked everywhere, I probably taste disgusting."

Chuck didn't even notice, such was his happiness.

"Sarah, listen to me right now. We're not going to worry about this yet. If you are, then we will figure out what to do when we know. For now, let's focus on getting through this. Just know whatever happens, I am here with you, always." Chuck said. Sarah smiled and hugged him again before they popped the trunk and sat down next to each other in the cargo well.

"So speaking of getting through this…what are we going to do?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know…" Chuck said truthfully. "What about Casey? Do you think he'd be with us?"

"I'd like to think so." Sarah said. "I really think he's with us too, but we don't know if we can trust him yet. He would do just about anything for us, but I don't know if that extends to disobeying a direct order." Sarah was thoughtful as they sat in the trunk.

Suddenly, Chuck's phone buzzed. They had stopped along the way to pick up burners since they had left their main phones and their radio equipment in the apartment. Chuck and Sarah shared a terrified look; the only ones who had their numbers were each other. Chuck pulled the phone out, fumbling it slightly in his haste. The number came up blocked. Chuck and Sarah got into the car and began driving away in case this was a trap. Chuck thumbed the green 'answer' button.

"Hello?"

A computer-altered voice said one word on the other end before the line went dead.

"Black Rock."

Chuck's eyes rolled into the back of his head. _A house in a field. The coat of arms for Fulcrum and the name Black Rock. A two lane highway through the desert. Barstow, CA: 34˚ 53' 56.40", -117˚ 1' 19.20". A house in a field._

"Chuck, what is it? Who was that?" Sarah asked as she sped through the backroads of whatever L.A. suburb they were in.

"Sarah, I think that was my dad, I think he just told me where he's at. The name is Black Rock, it's a codename for Fulcrum Protocol 7, which is housed in a secret base outside Barstow." Chuck typed the coordinates into his phone and began directing Sarah on how to get there. After he finished with his directions, silence descended upon the car once more, each of them lost in their thoughts.

Chuck was mulling over the news that Sarah had just broken to him. _Pregnant._ Sarah could possibly be pregnant. They had been extremely careful, but accidents do happen. Terror rose in him as thought after thought sped through his brain. First and foremost was Sarah…she was the best of the best in the CIA, but he hoped she was beginning to settle down and warm up to the idea of maybe having kids one day. He knew that she was concerned that she would never be the type of woman who could have that normal of a life, but Chuck knew better.

Despite her past, Sarah was one of the most caring and responsible people he knew, she would make an amazing mother. _Especially to my child,_ Chuck thought. _Oh my God._ It had truly begun to settle in on him at that point. Sarah could be pregnant…with _his_ child. Chuck began to breathe faster as he considered this. He didn't know if _he_ was ready to be a parent. He was barely on solid food himself. He wanted kids, more than anything, but this was just not a good time in his life for kids. On top of the personal issues there was the CIA and the Intersect to consider, not to mention the fact that spies had a habit of showing up in his life lately as his friends and family.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Sarah asked.

"Sarah…I'm freaking out." Chuck said.

Sarah was silent for a moment, not needing to ask what he was freaking out about. Without a word, she pulled off the road, into a gas station.

"You pump, I'll go pay for it." Sarah got out of the car to go pay with cash so they couldn't be tracked. Chuck went through the motions, all the while being completely aware of Sarah's avoidance of the problem just now.

"Chuck," Sarah said as she appeared at his side. "Don't freak out yet. Not until we know if we have something to freak out about. Here." She handed him a pink box, a pregnancy test. "We'll drive past the location tonight and then get a hotel room before we do more recon in the morning. We'll use this when we get there, together." Chuck swallowed and looked up at his girlfriend.

"Ok, Sarah. Just so you know, like you said earlier…you're it for me too. I can't see any future ahead of me that doesn't have you in it, and I wouldn't have it any other way." Sarah beamed as Chuck leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. He closed the gas cap and got in the driver's side, shouting down Sarah's protests that she was fine and didn't need a break.

They drove for another hour and a half, taking back roads and avoiding the main highway. Chuck saw no sign of a tail as Sarah slept soundly in the passenger seat, Chuck gently stroking her thigh. They hit a bump and Sarah moaned adorably in her sleep and rolled over. In that instant, Chuck knew everything was going to be fine.

* * *

 _March 26, 2009_

 _0029 Pacific Time_

 _Motel South of Starbright Drive-In Movie Theatre_

Chuck and Sarah opened the door to the seedy motel and deposited their bags on the table. They had made it to the Starbright Drive-In, where his flash told him Black Rock was located, but seeing nothing suspicious they decided to do more recon after getting some sleep. It had, after all, been an extremely long day.

After shuffling through the shower, the two prepped the gear and laid it out near the door where they could get into it quickly if an emergency rose up. They placed various sensors by the door and windows and synced them to both of their phones to alert them if they were tripped.

Now that the spy issues were taken care of, they knew they couldn't put off their personal worries any longer. Coming to a mutual yet silent agreement, Chuck and Sarah looked at each other at the same time. Sarah sighed, walking over to her bag and pulling out the pregnancy test. She went into the bathroom as Chuck nervously paced outside the door. He realized just how nervous he was when he heard a door slam somewhere else in the motel and he immediately dropped to a knee and pulled out his pistol, aiming for the door. Once he realized he was just being jumpy, he holstered his gun and began pacing once again.

Finally the door opened, and Sarah stood in the doorway watching him as the bathroom light spilled out behind her. She beckoned him towards her and he approached, taking the hand that she offered as they went and sat on the edge of the tub.

Chuck opened his mouth several times to say something, but no words would come out. Sarah seemed to be in the same predicament so instead they just squeezed each other's hands and held each other close. Finally, the requisite two minutes passed. Sarah lifted the test off the counter, and looked at Chuck.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

Chuck took a deep breath. "Yes."

They both looked down at the test's viewing window, and their breath caught – a small pink plus sign was present. For several minutes, they didn't move, hardly daring to breath. Chuck recovered first, and as usual, resorted to babbling.

"Wow, I just… _wow_. Sarah, we're going to have a baby! Unless of course, you don't want to…I can't say I'd blame you if you didn't want to, of course. You are a super spy after all."

"Chuck,"

"But we have options. I don't want you to feel trapped by this Sarah, so if you want, I'll raise the baby, you don't have to stay if you don't want to, I understand. This isn't something we remotely planned for, and I don't want you to have to give up your future if this isn't something you want."

" _Chuck_!"

"And of course, if you are completely dead set against even that…there's always adoption or…or the other 'a' word….I don't even think I can think about that right now, I really hope that isn't what you choose, but if that's what you want, I can come to terms with it too, really, Sarah, I'd get it."

 _Slap._

Sarah had slapped Chuck across the face – hard.

"Ow Sarah, that really hurt!"

"And it's going to hurt a hell of a lot more if you don't shut the fuck up right now, Chuck Bartowski. I swear, if the next words out of your mouth aren't, 'we're in this together, Sarah,' I am going to kick your ass so hard that you'll need to do a handstand to use the bathroom. I am not doing any of those things. Do you really think I care so little about you that I would leave you to raise a child – _our_ child – by yourself? And I don't know where the hell you get off thinking I would _ever_ consider putting our kid up for adoption or God forbid get an abortion. That is terrible Chuck! I love you, and I want this. Sure, I didn't exactly want this to happen this way or this soon, but we both know we are in this for the long haul and Chuck, I definitely want this…I always have, ever since I met you. As long as it's with you." Sarah finished, tears flooding from her eyes.

"Sarah…" Chuck said, rushing up to her and taking her in his arms. "I'm sorry, Sarah, I was freaking out, I shouldn't have said any of that. I just don't want you to feel trapped, but the truth is I am so, unbelievably excited for this." Chuck hugged her close as Sarah smiled brightly.

"Come here," Chuck said, coming to a decision and dragging her by the hand out into the living room. Chuck got down on one knee.

"Sarah, I know this is not the most ideal place ever – but at least I got us out of the bathroom. But I've been building up to this point for months now, and if there is one thing I am sure of, it is how badly I want to be with you, forever. Sarah Walker…will you do me the honor of being my wife?" Chuck said, wincing as he used the most stereotypical line in his arsenal, one that he had vowed to never use.

Sarah put her hands to her mouth, still crying. She lifted him from the floor and hugged him, kissing him long and hard. When she separated their lips, she looked him deep in the eye, her hands hooked behind his head with her arms resting on his shoulders and took a long, raggedy breath.

"No," She said.

"Say what now?" Chuck asked, confused.

"No, Chuck. You want me to marry you? You better have a much better proposal planned than that." She said as she slapped his arm playfully. "And it had _better_ not be only because you found out I'm pregnant. You better mean it when you finally propose, and I expect a damn. Good. Effort." She said, poking him in the chest with each word for emphasis before pulling him close once more. "But for the record, you don't need to be nervous when you finally do get it right." She said impishly as she walked towards the bed.

Chuck stood stock still as he realized the implications of what she just told him. Even though this attempt had been disastrous, he was soon going to be _engaged_ to Sarah Walker. And she was having his _baby_. Chuck wasn't sure how much time had passed as he stood there, too floored to move.

"Coming Chuck?" Sarah asked as she got into bed.

Chuck started and began walking towards her, jumping on top of her and attacking her with his lips as the world ceased its momentarily stand-still.

* * *

 _March 26, 2009_

 _0912 Pacific Time_

 _Motel South of Starbright Drive-In Theatre_

Chuck slowly blinked at the sun filtering in through the aptly named blinds. He stayed completely still so he didn't wake up the slumbering assassin who was currently bogged down in a tangle of blankets and Chuck's limbs. Sarah began to stir and Chuck turned towards her. She looked so peaceful; Chuck decided to coax her back into sleep for a little while longer. He leaned his head close to hers, and began a soft combination of whispering and humming and she settled back into the crook of his arms, gently smacking her lips adorably.

Chuck smiled broadly as he tightened his grip against her, pulling her perfect body more fully into his as he marveled at how well they fit together. Even after all this time, Chuck still had a hard time believing they were actually together. And now he was going to have a _family_ with her. The burning ball of happiness that had been present in his chest since Sarah took the test the night before threatened to overflow. His happiness must have channeled itself into his arms as Sarah began to squirm and he realized how tightly he was squeezing her.

"Chuck, it's too bright. Make it stop." Sarah moaned sleepily, drawing out the last few syllables.

Chuck simply leaned forward and kissed her head, stroking her arm as he held her.

"Good morning, sweetheart." Chuck said happily.

Sarah rolled over and finally blinked her eyes open, kissing him softly.

"Good morning," she said with a smile.

Chuck looked at her face framed in sunlight and smiled a dazzling smile that caused Sarah's breath to catch in her throat. His smile faltered as he steeled himself to say what he was determined to say.

"So, listen, Sarah…I know you're going to hate this idea but I think you should stay here. I can handle myself and you really should not be putting yourself out there, not in the condition you're in. I know you can handle yourself too but this is different now…"

Chuck trailed off from his babbling as Sarah held a finger to his lips, shushing him.

"Chuck, that's sweet, but I'm not letting you go out there alone, and if you think I would then you've got another thing coming. How many times do I have to say we're in this together until you start believing me?" Sarah asked.

"I do believe you, Sarah, but you can't deny that this changes things."

"Ok, fine, you have a point. But one thing at a time, Chuck. Let's get through this first, and then we can figure out what we're going to do. For now let's just focus –" Sarah stopped talking abruptly as their phones began blaring with alarms from their early warning devices.

They both scrambled from the bed, pulling on clothes and tossing each other weapons as they took up covering positions within the room, aiming their guns at the door. The unmistakable sound of a key being slid into the lock came from the other side of the door and they began slowing their breathing as they prepared to fire and then run. The door gently swung open and Chuck tensed his finger on the trigger, taking the slack out of the firing mechanism. Suddenly, an all too familiar grunt filled the air, followed shortly by the bulky frame belonging to the owner as he stepped through the door.

"You can put those damn things down, thank you very much. You guys seem to be missing the whole point in this 'team' thing. Mind telling me what you're little heart to heart was all about this morning?" Casey said gruffly.

Chuck stood up and lowered his gun. "Casey, what are you doing here?"

"Seemed like a pleasant morning and I said hey, I really want to spend it in a seedy motel. I'm stopping you from getting yourselves killed, moron." Casey rolled his eyes as he closed the door. "Now spill it, why has the 'situation changed,' as you said?"

Chuck and Sarah exchanged looks as they silently debated whether they could fully trust their partner. In the end they decided he deserved as much.

"I'm pregnant, Casey." Sarah said. "As for running…we didn't know who we could trust. We thought we could trust Beckman, yet she wanted to throw Chuck in a hole and break up the team."

"Well you should have trusted me, Walker. I think I've proved myself enough times. We are a team, and…I hate you guys for making me say this, but we are like family, and no one messes with my family, not even a General." Casey sneered as he let the Ladyfeelings show.

"So how did you hear our conversation this morning? Do you have bugs implanted on us somewhere?" Chuck asked, theatrically checking his forearms as though to feel the bump of electronics under his skin.

"If I had bugs planted on you, I wouldn't have needed to ask about the conversation, now would I moron? I used a parabolic microphone. Wanted to make sure I wasn't barging into the wrong room and you didn't put any countermeasures on the window…pretty sloppy, but I suppose you were distracted. Speaking of which…you let the nerd knock you up, huh Walker?"

Sarah gave him a scathing look. "Don't be an ass, Major."

Casey mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?" Sarah asked quickly.

"It's…Colonel now…" Casey said, awkwardly.

His words were met with silence.

"So," Chuck started. "You were promoted to Colonel to hunt us down?

"Yes. But I didn't tell her I was trying to find you so I could help you." Casey said defensively.

Chuck snorted.

"What? You think just because I didn't declare to her outright that I was on your side makes it any less true? What good would that have done besides get me arrested too? Look, I'm on your side, so let's figure this out. What do you have so far?"

Chuck was silent a minute as he considered his partner. After making a decision, he sat down and began to talk.

"Someone, we're assuming my dad, made contact and said the codename for a Fulcrum base that caused me to flash on the location. It is plenty nondescript, so we need to go do further recon on it, and we need to be careful. Like I said, we're assuming it was my dad but the voice was altered, so it could have been anyone."

"Okay, so pack up, and let's go do some recon." Casey said without hesitation.

Chuck considered the man for a moment before speaking. "Thanks, Casey. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for not trusting you." Chuck said. Casey grunted in response and walked out to his car.

"Well, I guess that settles one issue." Chuck said cheerfully.

"Yes, I suppose it does. One down, 99 to go." Sarah said.

"But a bi-" Chuck started.

"Don't even finish that sentence Chuck." Sarah said as she pulled her gear back on.

"All the great songs out there and that awful piece is the one you know the words to?" Chuck asked, baffled.

"I had to spend a lot of time in night clubs, now let's go." Sarah said as she pulled Chuck along with her.

The pair walked outside to Casey's Crown Vic, leaving their final stolen car – a Nissan Frontier – in the parking lot. Chuck had already called the police from the pay phone to report seeing a stolen vehicle so the owners could have it back – washed and with a full tank of gas.

They all piled into the Vic and Casey promptly drove off. As they were leaving, Chuck's eyes rolled back in his head for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. _Leaves on a tree. California license plate: 6PCI387. LAPD File, Stolen Vehicle. The driver, 5'9, bald head, black clothes, silenced H &K MK23 pistol murdering an unarmed man, presumed to be the vehicle owner. The FULCRUM Seal. Leaves in a tree._

"Crap. Guys, FULCRUM is here, gray Cadillac behind us. Go go go!" Chuck yelled.

Casey gunned the engine, peeling out of the parking lot in a haze of smoke and squealing tires as he raced away from the enemy agent. Chuck spun around from his spot in the backseat and noticed two other vehicles take up positions on either side of the first and begin the chase.

"Two more tails Casey, 20 yards back." Chuck said calmly as he lowered the seat back and reached into the trunk, pulling the cases with their rifles in them forward. Chuck opened the first case and pulled Sarah's Remington RSASS and handed it up to her in the front passenger seat before pulling his own H&K 417 and chambering a round. Chuck rolled down the driver's side window, sliding out and sitting on the doorframe as he shouldered his rifle, Sarah doing the same thing from her seat in the front.

"Bartowski, I swear to God if you blow up another Vic, I will slap you silly, baby on the way or not."

Chuck rolled his eyes as he sighted in on the lead car, attempting to take out either the driver or the engine block. He thumbed his fire selector to single shot – full auto was for amateurs and cover fire – and began sending round after round down range. Sarah's rifle opened up behind/in-front of him, depending on how he thought about it and soon a thin trail of smoke began to bleed from the engine compartment of the lead vehicle.

"Nice Sarah!" Chuck shouted as he switched targets. "I'm moving to the rear vehicle, my one o'clock, stay on the lead!"

Chuck moved his fire to the rear vehicle, but was unable to get a clear shot through the smoke.

"Hold on!" Casey shouted as he jerked the wheel to the left, moving onto a small dirt road off the main highway. Chuck was almost launched from the window but just managed to hold on. The cars were forced to move to single file, thankfully the lead car realizing its limitations and pulling to the back of the pack. This worked as an advantage for both the bad guys and for Chuck and Sarah, as it gave them clear shots. The trees whipped by on either side as Chuck and Sarah continued to fire.

"You're slipping Casey! No standard issue oil slick?" Chuck shouted over the sound of gunfire.

"Lift the seat up!" Casey shouted back.

"He always lifts the seat Casey. It's getting him to put it back down that's the trouble!" Sarah added from the roof.

"Well fine, if you want to pull that card, Sarah, no more warm towels for you after your shower."

Sarah glared at Chuck as she reloaded. "You wouldn't dare! You can't threaten me with that, you stole that move from Awesome in the first place, it isn't yours to threaten people with."

"Would you two can-it and shoot at these fuckers?" Casey yelled, pissed off.

Chuck's jaw dropped in disbelief as he reached down to lift the car cushions and a thoroughly unexpected sight met his eye. A full arsenal with a variety of weapons from pistols to rifles to a harpoon gun and a shoulder fired rocket launcher were hidden in the cushions.

"All this time and you didn't think to mention I had a rocket under my ass?" Chuck yelled up to Casey even as he pulled out the M72 LAW (Light Anti-tank Weapon) and popped the safeties. The M72 was a long green tube that fired a 66mm unguided rocket which was capable of penetrating eight inches of solid steel. They had trained with this weapon on the farm but not much since spies rarely had the luxury of such an overt weapon. He placed the tube in position on his right shoulder as he rose out of the window, taking aim on the middle car.

The face of the driver of the middle car fell into an almost comical expression of horror as he watched the flaming rocket fire gracefully from the launcher towards him. He attempted to correct his course but his actions were far too little far too late and the rocket slid home into the hood of the car. The blooming fireball was spectacular as the force of the explosion forced the rear end of the lead car to force upwards, spinning the car end over end until it began to slide along on its roof. The trail car was unable to stop as it slammed into the steel inferno that was previously the middle vehicle and the flames leapt as they spread their destruction over both cars and their trapped Fulcrum agents. Casey slammed on the brakes as he cheered at the destruction and all three agents dove from the Vic, Sarah and Chuck shouldering their rifles and Casey pulling his sidearm as they approached the rolled over wreckage of the first car.

Inside, they found only one agent still alive – the driver – as he was the only one wearing his seatbelt. Chuck covered him with his rifle as Sarah approached with a knife drawn, cutting the man's seatbelt and dragging him from the car while he screamed in pain. Casey put his pistol in the man's mouth as he crouched down in front of him.

"Shhhh sh sh, easy now little guy, I just wanna have a chat." He pulled the gun out and grabbed the man's arm which was clearly broken.

"Ah, shit man, take it easy! I think my arm's busted!" The man yelled.

"Well, it'd be a shame if someone had to _twist_ your arm for some reason." Casey said maliciously, placing a lot of torque on his arm as he said this and causing the man to begin crying.

"Fuck that hurts man! Just stop, I'll do whatever you want, just stop!"

"Where's Roark?" Chuck asked loudly.

"He's at Blackrock, it's a base about three miles west of here."

"If I wanted you to tell me something I already knew, I would have asked you what color the sky is. Where is Roark exactly, how do we get into the base?" Chuck asked as Casey squeezed his arm again.

"Ow, Jesus man! It's under the drive in, go over to the park and pull up on the sea-lion! Take the tunnel down and it's a small bomb shelter. Roark has his office and quarters at one end of the hall, follow the arrow for crew quarters, that's where everyone sleeps and works."

"And Orion?" Chuck asked.

"He's the opposite direction, last room at the other end of the hall!"

"Thanks for your cooperation." Chuck said as Casey knocked him out with a blow to the head from the heel of his pistol.

"Night night." He growled as he cuffed the man to the wreckage of his car.

"Alright guys, we need to go end this. I say we go in now, while we still have the element of surprise." Chuck said.

"I agree." Casey said, straightening up.

"Alright, let's go get your dad." Sarah said, putting her rifle on safe and walking to the Vic to pull on her assault gear. Chuck and Casey joined her, fastening down gear as they discussed the best route for infiltration. Thankfully, Casey had brought with all the gear they had left behind, including their tactical radios so they could proceed directly to their objective. After donning their gear they got back in the Vic and began driving towards Blackrock. Casey pulled out his phone and called General Beckman to inform her of the situation and have a team pick up their canary.

"Yes, General I found them…We're currently en route to obtain Orion…I'm aware of my orders, General…Yes ma'am, Agents Bartowski and Walker will be returned to Castle, but not until we are done here…no – ma'am, with all due respect you can't do that…Fuck!" This last was said as Casey threw his phone on the dash and gunned the engine.

"What's going on Casey?" Sarah asked.

"Beckman's pissed. She said most of Fulcrum is amassing at the Blackrock site and she authorized an airstrike."

"No! Casey, get us there, now!" Chuck yelled.

"What do you think I'm trying to do Moron?"

The trees whipped buy as Casey punched the accelerator, taking the curves at breakneck speeds and whipping around cars in both lanes of traffic. They arrived at the site in less than five minutes and Chuck was out of the car before it had even rolled to a stop. Vintage previews were playing on the screen of the drive-in, interrupted by old shorts about the different snacks available at the concession stand. Dozens of identical silver Chrysler convertibles were already arranged in neat rows, watching the previews with the top down, two men in identical suits sitting in each of the cars.

Chuck ran to the side of the projection booth as Sarah and Casey rushed to keep up. Having reached the main electrical connection, Chuck paused to pull his helmet on, complete with the military's L-3 GPNVG-18 panoramic view night vision device. The goggles were large and contained four individual night vision sights that gave the wearer as full a view of the battlefield as possible, with the slight drawback of giving them an insect-like appearance.

Chuck left the optics flipped up on the helmet-hinges, leaving them pointing at the sky. The three crept stealthily as possible to the old blue sea lion and moved into position, Chuck and Sarah sweeping back and forth, overlapping their fields of fire as they scanned for threats. Casey moved to the front of the child's toy and pulled hard on the handles, as the entire contraption rocked forward revealing a trap door. Casey shined the light mounted on his Colt M4 rifle down the hole and saw no targets.

"Clear," he said softly.

"Mic check, radios on VOX." Chuck stated, keying his radio as he said it. Two confirmations of working radios followed, and Sarah pulled an M84 Flashbang grenade from her vest, pulling the pin. She popped the spoon and after a 3-count tossed it in the hole, the three of them squeezing their eyes shut as they relied on their training and their radio headsets/hearing protection to prevent the flashbang from affecting them. They moved before the percussion wave had even finished moving through their bodies, each of them gripping the side rails of the ladder and sliding down to the bottom. Chuck was the first one down, and immediately moved away from the bottom and dropped to a knee, covering the entire hallway with his rifle until Casey dropped down next to him and covered his half.

A stumbling Fulcrum agent wandered down the hallway as he struggled to throw off the effects of the Flashbang. Chuck snapped his rifle towards him, placing the crosshairs of his EOTech holographic sight on his center mass and fired a suppressed double tap into his sternum, dropping him in a heap. Two simultaneous double taps told him Sarah had landed and her and Casey and eliminated two more agents.

"Sarah, cover this side while I tap into their systems." Chuck said. Sarah moved up behind him and tapped his shoulder, her pistol still trained down range in her other hand. Chuck moved backwards, still covering the hall with his rifle until he backed into the wall. He dropped his rifle, letting it rest on its sling as he unclipped his leg pouch and pulled out his mission computer, enabling the Bluetooth and syncing it to his phone which was strapped in place on his wrist. He connected the wires between his computer and the terminal on the wall, accessing their systems and viewing the cameras, finding only four more men inside, excluding Roark. His dad was at the end of the hall that Casey was facing, standing inside his room, chained to the floor at the ankle.

"Got him, he's in a small room at the end of the hall down range from Casey. Drop NODs, I'm going to kill the power." Chuck said.

He switched the display on his computer so it was night-vision friendly, the computer screen now emanating a red background that wouldn't blind him once the advanced optics were activated. He dropped the hinged optics into place in front of his eyes and the world was bathed in green. He typed in a few commands and the lights went dead before closing the computer and sliding it back into his pouch, keeping the cameras activated on the group of agents still in the building who were now stumbling around in the dark, disoriented.

"Four targets are now blind and stumbling down in the barracks. Ha! One of them just walked into the wall!" Chuck said, laughing slightly. "They don't seem to be a problem right now, let's get my dad."

The three started moving down the hallway, sweeping their weapons back and forth in case someone had fooled the cameras. They reached the door and stacked up against the wall next to it, trying the knob and finding it unlocked. Casey was in front and held up three fingers, slowly ticking them down until he reached zero. He eased the door open and they proceeded inside, Casey going right and covering that side of the room covering from corner to corner. Sarah was next, moving left of the door and covering that side. Chuck was last, entering the room and sweeping his rifle along the back wall, covering the rear and center of the room. His dad was on the floor, and Chuck had to sidestep quickly as his dad threw a heavy laptop in his direction.

"Dad stop! It's me!" Chuck said, dropping to a knee in front of him and grabbing his arm before he could throw anything else.

"Charles? What are you doing here?" Stephen asked, nervous.

"No time, Dad. Let's go, there's an airstrike on the way." Chuck backed up as Sarah moved up next to him, setting to work picking the lock on Stephen's cuffed leg. Chuck and Casey moved to the door, covering the hallway while she worked.

"Why would you have an airstrike coming while we're still in here? What did the CIA do to you son?" Stephen asked, freaking out a little.

"Relax dad, I didn't do this. We'll call it a…communication breakdown. We'll talk later, right now let's just move." Chuck said, frustrated with the situation.

Sarah finished her work and pulled Stephen to his feet, the four moving back to the ladder in the back.

"Up the ladder, quick. Fulcrum's moving this way."

Sarah went up the ladder first, followed quickly by Casey, covering topside before Stephen made his way up. Chuck checked his phone again and saw the agents getting closer to his position, forcing him to switch cameras. They had found NVD's somewhere down in the base and were now moving quickly. Chuck pulled another flashbang and tossed it far down the hallway. He closed his eyes tight before the explosion, moving right after it up the ladder, glimpsing the mayhem he just caused on his phone while he climbed. The flashbang hit right in the midst of the approaching agents, the flash from the grenade magnified ten times over in the NVD display, causing instant but temporary paralysis.

Chuck used his phone to kill the power to the rest of the compound, bathing the area into darkness as they rushed towards the Crown Vic, Chuck pushing/pulling Stephen along with him. They made it to the car as they heard the telltale scream of fighter jets overhead.

"Move!" Casey yelled.

They dove into the car, Casey flooring the accelerator before the doors were closed. They barely made it onto the road before massive fireballs began erupting behind them, and the car was rocked forcefully as Casey drove. Somehow they escaped the flames and got away from the mayhem in time.

"Well that was fun," Casey said, genuinely smiling.

"Casey, we need to find you some new hobbies." Chuck said as Sarah laughed.

* * *

 _March 27, 2009_

 _1902 Pacific Time_

 _Castle_

"You do realize that I have grounds to terminate all three of you from your respective agencies, right? You all went AWOL, ignored orders, launched a high speed scoot and shoot in broad daylight and decided to initiate your own high-stakes hostage rescue. I take back what I said about terminating you…this is enough to have you arrested. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Beckman was pissed, but that was nothing compared to the fury that Chuck felt spilling over at her words.

"General, are you serious right now? You order Sarah, my own girlfriend, to talk me into custody and shove me in some bunker somewhere, promote Casey purely to convince him to hunt us down, and then order an airstrike on _American soil_ no less to destroy the very hostage that we went to rescue, namely my own damn father! What exactly would you have me do? Better yet, what would you do if faced with the same situation? Really, I'd love to know, please lay it on me." Chuck said angrily.

" _Chuck!_ " Sarah whispered emphatically. "You're not helping."

There was a long pause as Beckman scowled down from the video screen at them, her mouth a thin silent line. After a few moments, her scowl began to soften.

"No, Agent Walker. He's right. If it was me…I would have done something similar. Your father was deemed an acceptable loss. For what it's worth, I did not come to the decision lightly but the strike has effectively wiped out Fulcrum. I don't expect you to agree or even understand, but it's the truth, Bartowski. Colonel Casey's promotion was a long-time coming, but yes, it was partially motivated to convince him to turn against you. Again, not my proudest moment, but you should know by now that this field is not filled with the most endearing decisions.

"As for you being placed in a bunker…it was not what it seemed, Agen – Chuck. Intel came to light that Roark had figured out you are the Intersect. We couldn't risk you falling into their hands and unfortunately I have come to know you over the last few months and I knew you would not go off the grid with your father still out there. In addition to that…the President was informed of the situation and based on the risk with the secrets you hold, he wanted a kill order placed on you. I saw that as a mistake, one I could not sit by and let happen. So I used Sarah, yes…but to keep you safe. You're just going to have to trust that everything I do…I do for a reason, Chuck. That being said, I made a mistake with this decision. But you all made it through in one piece, and I am pleased to see that. Take the next few days off, go to your sister's wedding. We'll discuss this situation further once everyone has had a chance to cool off."

The screen went blank and they were left in silence as they considered Beckman's words. Chuck was still furious but it was hard to deny that Beckman was acting with their best intentions at heart, if her words were to be believed. Sarah and Casey worse skeptical expressions, but Chuck hadn't yet lost his trusting nature to the spy life, not all of it anyway, and he was prepared to give Beckman the benefit of the doubt. For now.

"Well, you heard her guys, sounded like an order to me. Let's go celebrate!" Chuck said cheerfully.

"Chuck…we should talk about this. This is a problem, we can't just take her word for it." Sarah said.

"Why not? Look, like she said, let's take some time to cool down and we can talk about it later. If we can't trust our team…if we can't trust our superiors, then who can we trust? Let's just let it lie for now, and we can figure it out later."

Chuck was already on his way out of Castle as he spoke, and he paused on the stairs, turning with his hand outstretched.

"Coming?" He asked. Sarah smiled and slowly walked over to join him, taking his hand. Casey followed close behind.

"So Walker, still able to walk without having to waddle yet, huh? Can't wait to see that."

This earned Casey a swift punch, knocking him back off the stairs stumbling onto the floor.

"Ah, I can see the hormones didn't take nearly as long." Casey grunted, rubbing his jaw.

Chuck and Sarah just laughed as they finished walking up the stairs hand in hand, heading off to a different kind of adventure.

* * *

 _March 26, 2009_

 _La Casa De Bartowski-soon-to-be-Woodcombe and Woodcombe_

 _1946 Pacific Time_

Chuck stood outside the door of Ellie's apartment and took a deep breath. He knew he was in for an interesting few hours. The fact that their father had been back in their lives for only a day before appearing to leave again was going to take a big toll on Ellie, and Chuck disappearing on her would not help matters in the slightest.

His father walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. They had already changed into their suits for the night, and Sarah was in their apartment getting ready. Casey was sitting on the fountain, smoking a cigar with three more resting in his pocket. Ellie's voice began to penetrate the wood of the door.

" – I knew that my father would disappoint me, but I just didn't think that Chuck would. I don't know, it must be in the DNA." Ellie said, clearly dejected.

There was silence for a moment before Devon spoke. "Ellie, I know it's difficult without Chuck. But he wants to be here, I know he does. Your dad leaving shook him up pretty bad, but Ellie he'll be back. Trust me, he loves you. So do I."

Chuck smiled as he closed his eyes. "Thanks, Devon." He whispered to himself.

"So…that's Devon?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah, Dad, that's Devon. He's a great guy. We couldn't have asked for a better person for Ellie to marry."

Stephen frowned momentarily before smiling. "I won't pretend I didn't wish Eleanor wasn't getting married yet, but I suppose the days of her being my little girl are far behind me, and my own fault. Let's get in there."

Chuck opened the door and put his keys on the door, sighing as Ellie jumped from the couch and began exclaiming.

"Chuck, where have you been?" She said as she crossed the room.

"I was getting your wedding present." He said as Stephen followed in behind him.

"Dad…hi…are you staying?" Ellie said, beginning to get upset.

"I'm not going anywhere." Stephen replied.

Devon and Chuck sat watching the scene and smiling.

"I got your back, bro."

"Thanks Devon." Chuck clapped him on the back and walked outside, meeting up with Casey at the fountain.

"You know Bartowski, I haven't been to a wedding in years. You're making me soft." He took a drag on his cigar. "Thanks. I was losing myself to this job. You've started to bring me back, so…thanks."

Chuck stood speechless for a moment then opened his mouth. "Casey, did you just say thanks… and that you're ok with getting soft?" Chuck asked, shocked. "Who knew you had a heart of gold under all that growling muscle."

"Stow it, moron, or I'll take it back." Casey said, growling as he began to sound more like his normal self before looking over Chuck's shoulder. "I'll go warm up the Vic."

Chuck turned and saw Sarah walking towards him. His breath caught in his throat as he looked her up and down. She was absolutely stunning wearing a light blue satin dress that matched her eyes perfectly. Chuck had seen her in varying outfits for their job, not to mention seeing her naked multiple times thanks to their relationship, but she never ceased to have this effect on him.

"You look amazing, Sarah." Chuck said, still breathless.

Sarah smiled; she had heard so many different descriptions of her looks from so many different men, but none ever meant as much to her as when Chuck said it. Chuck could simply say 'you look nice' and it would still mean the world to her due to the sincerity with which he spoke, a sincerity that was intended only to genuinely compliment her and never to trick her into bed – not that tricks would ever be necessary for him.

"Thank you. You look very dapper." She said with a megawatt smile.

"Thank you," He said.

"So how does it feel, having your family reunited?" She asked as they linked their hands.

"It feels…pretty great, actually." Chuck smiled.

"I wish there was hope for mine." She said sadly.

"Hey, don't think like that. Your family is different, yes, but you turned out pretty great. And look on the bright side…now we got the chance to raise our child and fix the mistakes that both of our parents have made in our lives."

Sarah smiled. "This kid doesn't stand a chance. Smarter than either of us combined and with your gun skills and my knife skills, we better hope they never turn into an evil dictator."

"This is starting to sound like a comic book." Chuck said with a laugh.

* * *

 _March 27, 2009_

 _La Casa De Bartowski-Walker-Grimes_

 _0015 Pacific Time_

The rehearsal dinner had been an extremely enjoyable affair, and now a well-buzzed wedding party were sitting in the courtyard, enjoying the intimate atmosphere of the family they had created. Ellie, Sarah, Devon, Casey, Stephen, Chuck and even Morgan were all gathered around a metal outdoor fire place drinking beer and wine. Sarah sipped at a sparkling water and dodged the constant suspicious glances from Ellie that she had been receiving ever since she refused the first glass of wine.

"Well, I'm going to call it a night." Casey said as he stood, draining the rest of his beer. "Great dinner tonight, guys. Congratulations."

Devon and Ellie thanked him as Morgan rose to follow suit. Stephen groggily stood up as well, he had been nodding off for the past hour or so – being taken hostage tends to take a toll on you. Casey and Morgan headed off to their respective apartments while Stephen headed towards Ellie and Devon's for their guest room.

"So Sarah, how many weeks?" Sarah slowly lowered her glass as Chuck snorted into has bottle, as he had chosen that unfortunate time to take a drink from his beer.

"Excuse me?"

"How far along are you?" Ellie asked emphatically. "You can't fool me, you're practically glowing and you haven't touched a drop of alcohol all night. So spill."

Sarah considered her for a long moment and decided that she really should join in on the family business.

"I'm not sure. I've been getting morning sickness for about a week…we only just took a test last night."

Ellie squealed as she jumped from her chair and hugged her friend. Devon high fived Chuck and clapped him on the back, exclaiming that this was "awesome!" Ellie immediately launched into plans with Sarah, calling her friend the OBGYN doctor and waking her up, begging her to see Sarah first thing in the morning before the wedding. When all was said and done, the two couples separated, Chuck and Sarah not quite sure how they allowed Ellie to push them into a doctor's appointment and a baby naming brainstorm session prior to the madness that would be a wedding.

* * *

Eight hours later, a very nervous Sarah and Chuck sat in the office of Dr. Harper, a mid-thirties doctor at Westside Medical who was overly too friendly for eight in the morning. They had only gotten a few hours of sleep thanks to their after-party, and mornings were not Sarah's favorite. Her hair and make up for the day had already been done, and Chuck was under strict orders not to look at her 'that way' and risk making her lose control and try and kiss him, lest she ruin her lipstick.

Chuck was sitting next to her on the exam table, holding her hand and stroking it with his thumb. They were nervous; taking a pregnancy test was a lot different than getting concrete results from a medical doctor. The door opened and they both visibly stiffened.

"Ok, Mr. Bartowski, Ms. Walker, I have the results." She closed the door and pulled up a stool, sitting down and looking at them. "In rare cases, early pregnancy tests can read a false-positive. I'm sorry, I'll be blunt because I know you were excited – you're not pregnant."

Chuck and Sarah didn't even draw breath as they sat still for several moments, digesting this news. Though the pregnancy was an unexpected development and it probably made things far less complicated for them with her _not_ being pregnant, they had both been getting very excited to be parents together. Chuck stirred first even as his world still felt like it was shattering around him.

"How is this possible? I thought EPT's were like, 99.9% effective?" Chuck asked.

"Well, it's more like 99.2. You fall into the .8% of people that this is inaccurate for. A number of things can cause a false-positive reading, protein in your urine is the primary cause but it could also occur due to drug use such as tranquilizers, anti-convulsants like diazepam or lorazepam, or hypnotics. Now I know you already denied any drug use, but if you are feeling self-conscious you don't need to be, I am here to help you not to judge you. If this is an issue we can get you some help."

Sarah bristled as she clenched her fists. Chuck soothingly rubbed her lower back to calm her down.

"Dr. I assure you that is not an issue. But I volunteer at a veterinary office once a week, and was accidentally given a small dose of tranquilizer while we were attempting to hold down a surprisingly strong shitzu. But what about the morning sickness?"

Chuck barely hid a smirk at Sarah's lie, always admiring her quick wit at coming up with cover stories.

"We ran a few additional tests, and it appears that you did indeed get food poisoning like you thought. The fact that you only seemed to feel the worst of the symptoms in the morning is merely a coincidence. I'm sorry…I'll give you two a minute." Dr. Harper left the room and silence followed her for a few minutes.

"Well…that was unexpected. Are you okay Sarah?" Chuck asked.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, but it probably is for the best right now. We both know this was the worst possible timing. But don't make any mistake Chuck…I did want this and I still do. One day. One day soon we _will_ have a family together, that much I promise you." Sarah said softly.

A huge smile erupted on Chuck's face as he leaned in and kissed Sarah soundly. They got up and walked out of the office hand in hand, knowing that whatever came next they would continue to face it together.

* * *

 _March 27, 2009_

 _St. Patrick's Church, Burbank_

 _1130 Pacific Time_

The church was beautiful. Chuck walked up the aisle, running his hand along the satin bunting that was draped from pew to pew. He had always pictured Ellie at an outdoor wedding, but he wasn't fool enough to argue with the bride – especially not on her wedding day – whether he was armed or not. His happiness for his sister and his soon-to-be brother-in-law was bubbling over, a glorious respite from all the bad situations they had been facing lately. He walked up to Awesome who was standing at the front of the church with one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen on his face.

"Hey," Chuck said.

"Hey!" Awesome replied happily.

"Everything is going to be perfect, I even had your Toyota washed man."

"Perfect, thanks Bro." They linked hands and shared a quick man-hug.

"Oh! I'll be right back." Chuck said as he walked off towards the anteroom where Ellie and the bridal party were getting ready. He arrived at the door and knocked swiftly. The door opened revealing Honey, Devon's mom.

"Oh, hi. Can I talk to my sister for just a second? It'll only take a second." He asked.

"Oh, no, Chuck. It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

"It's fine," Ellie called from inside the room. "I don't believe in that stuff.

Chuck stepped around Honey, apologizing to her mostly to avoid causing a scene with the woman.

His sister was standing in front of the mirror in a floor length dress and veil. She looked absolutely beautiful, and he had rarely seen her looking so happy.

"Hi," she said, then seeing no response she gave him a concerned look. "What?"

Chuck sighed. "Look at you. Ellie, your dreams are coming true."

"If it were up to me I would have a small ceremony on a beach…sand between my toes, people that I love. But, we all make sacrifices for family, right?"

"Ellie…I need to tell you something very important. I don't know if you've talked to Sarah yet, but she's not pregnant. We're not going to have a baby, yet. Apparently there was a problem with the test and she had food poisoning which caused the morning sickness."

Ellie turned around, tears in her eyes and hugged Chuck.

"Ellie, please don't cry! It wasn't like she had a miscarriage or something, it was just a mistake. We're going to be ok, I promise. If anything, it solidified for both of us what we want out of this relationship."

Ellie released her grip on him and looked him in the eye, thankfully none of the tears spilling over down her face. "Are you sure, Chuck? This is one heck of an emotional roller coaster you two have been on."

"Well, I think it is definitely a shock, but Sarah and I both have some vacation time available…I'm going to see if she wants to get away for a little while and that should help. Thanks for your concern sis, but we'll be fine. Just wanted to make sure you knew. But let's not worry about it now, right now let's just go get you married."

They hugged one more time as the door opened once again and Sarah walked in, causing him to forget to breath for the second time in as many days.

"I made my dreams come true Chuck," Ellie said. "What are you gonna do about yours?"

Chuck walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Hey, can we talk for a minute?"

She smiled and nodded, grabbing his hand and pulling him outside of the room, closing the door behind them.

"Ellie wanted me to make sure that you have the rings." She said quickly.

"Yeah, right. Good call." Chuck checked his pockets and found both rings, pulling them out to show Sarah. She smiled at him as she fixed his Boutonniere.

"You look better than any James Bond ever did." She said sadly.

Chuck rested his hands on both of hers, still on his chest.

"And you, as always, look better than any woman I have ever seen or dreamed of seeing, Sarah. How are you holding up?"

"Be better if people didn't keep asking me when my turn is." She said with a quiet laugh.

"Yeah, I hear that's a big hazard at these things. I'm sure I'll hear my share when I stop running around everywhere. Just tell them soon." He said with a happy smile.

"Sarah, everyone keeps asking me what I'm going to do with my future, and the truth is, I don't have a clue. Things are a little bit more solid now that I have an established career, not to mention my Stanford degree thanks to you. But you know better than I do that this job won't last forever. All I do know is that I want you to be in it, that what will last forever is me and you. I believe we have some time off racked up…any place you want to go, Sarah, any place at all as long as it's sunny, with little umbrella drinks. What I'm getting at here is…Sarah Walker, will you do me the honor of taking a vacation with me?"

Chuck finished in a rush as Sarah looked at him with a sad smile.

"I think that is exactly what we need right now, Chuck. I know some beautiful places in the French countryside we could go to…plus I know how much you've always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower. I'm in, Chuck." She reached her arms behind his neck and pulled him in close, kissing him swiftly and passionately. When they finally broke apart, Chuck was breathing a little heavily.

"I love you, Sarah Walker." He said.

"I love you, Chuck. Always will."

Sarah kissed him again before letting him go, walking back inside the suite to help Ellie. Chuck walked back to the altar of the Church, finding Morgan talking with his dad who clapped him on the shoulder.

"Today is a day we will remember forever, son." Stephen said warmly.

Chuck smiled back, hugging his dad quickly, overjoyed to have him back in his life.

"Hey Chuck," Morgan said, shaking his hand and hugging him too. "I guess our little girl is all grown up." Morgan said sadly, Chuck wasn't sure if the tears in his voice were real or fake now that it was obvious he would never be with Ellie. "By the way, one of the waiters was looking for you, something about the champagne."

Chuck rolled his eyes as he rushed off towards the reception hall to find out what the fuss was. Walking in, everything looked normal as far as he could tell. Seeing no one frantically panicking with flutes of champagne, he walked over to the nearest table with an open bottle and poured himself a glass, sampling it and noting that it tasted absolutely superb.

He took a minute to stretch out his legs and relax, catching his breath from all the running around with wedding preparations. His foot hit a soft obstruction however, and when he glanced under the table he immediately straightened up at the sight that met his eyes. Two dead waiters were under the table with gunshot wounds to their chest. He scanned the room for threats but didn't have to look far as Ted Roark himself sat down at the table.

"You know, I believe we've met before." He said amicably.

"Ted Roark?" Chuck asked, in angry shock.

"No, no, I'm Ted Roark! You're the CIA agent who's in deep trouble."

"Cute, Roark, very cute. What in the hell are you doing here?"

"Well I wanted to wish you and your family congratulations on your sister's happy day. Her gown is just gorgeous. Full bodice, love the beading." Roark was still speaking cheerfully.

"I'll ask again, what the hell do you want? Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right here and right now." Chuck said menacingly.

"Well now, there's no need to curse! You know damn well what I want. I want the Intersect Cube." Roark finally had dropped his frivolous attitude.

"I can't give you that, Roark." Even if Chuck was so inclined, the cube had already been removed from the custody of Castle.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find a way. You and your father seem to enjoy solving problems. So solve this one, now." He stood to leave before turning back to Chuck. "Oh, sorry, I forgot the threat part. If you don't deliver that cube within a half hour, forty minutes tops with traffic, I'm going to kill the bride."

Chuck balled his hand into a fist.

"You touch one hair on my sister's head, or any of my friends and family and you're going to wish that you had burned three times over in that strike last night. Wait here, I'll be back for you." Chuck stood and walked swiftly out of the reception hall, noting at least six bodyguards dressed as wait staff on his way out.

He went into the church proper once more and was disheartened to see that in the time it took him to talk to Roark, the majority of the guests had shown up and been seated. He looked around but Sarah was still in with Ellie, and Casey was nowhere to be found. Morgan came up to him as soon as he saw him.

"Chuck, do you have a minute? I guess I'm just feeling a little nervous right now."

"Buddy, I'm so sorry but I can't talk right now." Chuck tried to walk past him but Morgan grabbed his arm.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, what's the matter? You could tell me, I…might be able to help."

Chuck began to stammer an excuse but then stopped when a plan began to form.

"It's uh, it's the rings. It's the rings! I have to go home and get them. Find Sarah, pull her aside, and specifically tell her that I forgot the rings. Tell her exactly that, and tell her that right away." Chuck said quickly.

"The wedding starts in twenty minutes, Ellie is gonna kill you." Morgan said, worried.

"Thanks for that."

"Unless…I stall the wedding. No one will even know you're gone, they'll just blame me and it'll be fine."

"You'd do that for me?" Chuck asked.

"Of course I would, dude. You've saved my ass a million times. It's about time I saved yours. Go!" Morgan walked away swiftly towards the bridal suite, and Chuck looked around once more, finally seeing Casey emerge from the bathroom. Chuck rushed over to him.

"Casey, huge problem. Roark is alive and he's here. He wants the Intersect cube and has at least six additional guys with him. Are you armed?"

"Of course not, moron. You don't bring a gun to a wedding, not in a Church." Casey rolled his eyes as he pushed Chuck's shoulder towards the exit. "Gear's in the Vic, let's go."

They started moving towards the Vic as quickly as they could without drawing attention, Chuck filling Casey in on the way.

Outside, the began pulling weapons from the trunk, thankful for their guests punctuality and the Church's location on a dead end street, as no passersby were there to see them pulling military grade weapons out of an old Crown Victoria. Chuck handed Casey his favorite rifle as he slide a magazine home into his own. He heard a noise behind them and both spies spun around, weapons raised and trained on the person approaching, but thankfully it was only his dad.

"What's going on, Charles? Morgan just told me and Devon that you and Sarah had run off somewhere." Stephen asked, worried.

"Dad, Roark is alive and he's here. Are you comfortable with a gun?" Chuck asked.

"Well, I'm not a big fan of using them or shooting people, but I'm accurate, why?"

"Here, take this tranq gun, and go to Ellie, stick by her side, give her a speech do anything. Just don't let her out of your sight. We're going to go deal with this." Chuck handed him the gun and slammed the trunk door home, sliding Sarah's Smith & Wesson into the back of his trousers as they took off running towards the reception hall.

They headed inside the Church and quickly ducked down a hallway, heading a backway to the hall and keeping their guns hidden at their sides. Suddenly music started up over the loudspeakers that most definitely was not the wedding march.

"Jeffster," Casey snarled.

"Ohhhh, Ellie is going to murder me when this is over." Chuck said.

They eased the door to the dining hall open, and peeking inside saw Sarah ducking behind the table of wedding presents, looking through the packages. Her eyes lit up as she opened up a box of knives. He silently slid her pistol over to her and she looked up, locking eyes with him. She nodded with a smile and Chuck and Casey crept into the room. They took up positions at different spots in the room. Roark had just wandered up to the cake and picked up a knife.

"You know, I'm feeling a bit peckish, how about you?" He said. Confused, Chuck surveyed the room a little closer to see who he was talking to and was not pleased to find Morgan tied to a chair in the reception hall.

"Look, just let me go, alright? I don't know what's going on here but you don't need me. I swear I won't even say anything, just let me out of here." Morgan said, clearly scared.

"Shut it, gnome. We've been over this. I need you to ensure that you're little buddy Bartowski and his CIA friends deliver what I need. So stop talking and maybe I won't kill you. Now, do you want some cake or not?"

"Don't you dare!" Chuck yelled, standing up and pointing his gun at Roark.

" _Chuck?_ " Morgan asked, shocked.

"Hey buddy," Chuck said sheepishly. "Look Roark, this is between me and you, let him go."

"Oh no, Chuck. This has always been between your family fighting me and everyone in my way. Well, not anymore. Your friend here is going to be hanging out with me until the second that Intersect cube is in my hands. Speaking of which, where do you have it at?" Roark asked.

"You're not getting a damn thing from me, Roark." Chuck snarled, raising his gun again and squeezing of several shots, hitting Roark in the chest.

Chaos ensued as Casey and Sarah followed suit, several silver knives seeming to sprout from eight of Roark's men as Chuck and Casey unloaded silenced shots into as many more. Unfortunately, Roark's men did not have silenced weapons nor were they good shots and the haze of black powder soon filled the air among the thunderous sound of gunfire.

Soon only two men remained amid a maze of flipped over tables as they attempted to seek cover from the deadly assassins, but Casey and Sarah quickly flanked them, taking them down as well. The air now still, Chuck looked around and surveyed the damage.

No table was left untouched, with glasses and fine china littering the floor, overturned tables everywhere the eye could see. The glass dome above the room was shattered from a spray of gunfire that launched from one of Roark's men as his finger tightened on the trigger in a death spasm.

Chuck walked up to Morgan who was still tied to the chair which now lay on the ground on its side, Chuck having knocked it over when the shooting began.

"Chuck, what in the hell is going on? Why did Ted Roark of all people just catch you in a shootout? And what is he talking about with this CIA stuff? What the hell Chuck?" Chuck could not come up with a cover story so he simply sighed and cut the tape binding Morgan before helping him to his feet.

"Look, Morgan. The truth is…I am a part of a joint NSA/CIA black ops team that is stationed here in Burbank. I have a level six clearance, and Sarah and Casey are both with the CIA too. Roark ran a terrorist organization named Fulcrum, and that's about all I can tell you…Don't freak out, but yeah, I'm a spy buddy."

"You're a spy?" Morgan asked.

"Remember what I just said about freaking out? I think you're doing that right now, and-and you shouldn't do that."

"You're a spy?" Morgan asked again.

"Stay with me, buddy, okay?" Chuck said emphatically.

"No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, I can't believe it. All this time, you kept this a secret? From me?"

"I'm so sorry, Morgan. You have no idea how badly I have wanted to tell you. All this lying about where I've been, you know, making plans and breaking them. And all the time, all I've wanted to do is tell you all about it, but I had to protect you too, you know? Please understand that." Chuck said.

Morgan sighed. "Wow…wow! I don't…My best friend is a spy? This is unbelievable! This is the best news I've ever heard! Holy smokes, it makes perfect sense too! Why we haven't been hanging out and talking as much! I thought I was losing you buddy, I thought I had already lost you but you were out saving the world? Oh man, I have so many questions!" Morgan was on a roll and showed no sign of slowing down, so Chuck placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Look buddy, I'll answer your questions later, okay? Right now we need to fix this. In the meantime, you cannot tell anyone and I mean anyone, about this, okay?"

"You got it, Chuck!" Morgan saluted Chuck as he walked out of the room, a huge grin on his face, muttering about Chuck being a spy.

"Moron, are you going to post a Facebook status about your new job or keep trying to spread it by word of mouth? The internet is much faster, you know."

"Lighten up, Casey, I didn't hear you coming up with a cover story." Chuck said angrily. He turned to Sarah and they moved towards the door.

Chuck rushed from the room to find Ellie and ensure she was alright, Sarah in tow while Casey called for cleaner teams and praying they could perform a miracle. They rounded the corner as Ellie emerged from her room, a terrified look on her face.

"Chuck, Sarah…what happened?" She asked as she spotted their sweaty faces and disheveled appearances, Chuck's hastily tucking in his shirt and Sarah adjusting her torn dress.

"Everything's alright, Ellie, there was just a minor centerpiece problem."

As Chuck finished speaking, the music ceased and was replaced with the sound of the fire alarm and the sound of running water came from the Church itself. From the screams it was obvious to deduce that Jeffster's performance had set of some of the fire sprinklers.

Ellie ran into the Church and looked around at the fleeing guests and began to cry.

"Wedding cancelled!" She shouted.

* * *

 _March 27, 2009_

 _Echo Park Courtyard_

 _1920 Pacific Time_

The beach wedding had been a huge success and the reception was in full swing in the middle of the courtyard. Casey had really pulled through and after calling in a few favors, the wedding and the decorations in the courtyard were set up without any further problems.

Now, a glass of champagne in his hand, Chuck walked over to Morgan who smiled at him.

"So, 007, when's the next mission?" Morgan asked excitedly.

"Let's just cool it with the mission talk, shall we buddy? Look, we can't talk about stuff like this in public, but sometime soon we can talk about everything okay? Where's Anna?" Chuck asked.

Morgan's face fell. "We were talking about moving to Hawaii, but when I realized it really wouldn't work, she left without me. She's gone man, and she's not coming back."

Chuck put his arm around his best friend. "Look buddy, it'll be okay. You guys didn't exactly have the most solid relationship anyway. There's something much better waiting for you out there, and I'm going to help you find it." Chuck smiled as his friend patted him on the back, thanking him for the talk.

Chuck's eyes found Sarah across the courtyard as they so often did, and a smile graced her features as their eyes locked. Chuck walked over to her and kissed her.

"Want to dance?" She asked.

"You know I do."

They walked to the middle of the courtyard amid the other dancing couples, and held each other close as they began to sway with the music.

"So I talked to Beckman today, we've both been approved for vacation, starting tomorrow." Chucks said. "She told us we deserved it and to have fun."

"Well, that's a surprise." Sarah replied.

"I suppose…no regrets from staying here, then? She told me that she offered to let you head up the new Intersect project. She told me they're going to try and add an agent. I don't want to hold you back Sarah, you belong out there…saving the world." Chuck said.

"Chuck…first of all, the last time I checked, we save the world on a pretty regular basis. Running around with some new Intersect agent wouldn't change that and it wouldn't be nearly as good for my personal life. Besides, I don't want a new partner, I already have the best partner I could ask for…Casey is pretty great." She added mischievously.

"Real cute, Walker." Chuck said as he laughed and kissed her.

"I guess deep down, I know that, Sarah. Sorry for bringing it up all the time. Guess it's still just hard to believe that you chose me." Chuck said sheepishly.

"Well, better get used to it, it's going to be that way for at least sixty years, Chuck." She smiled as she kissed him again, but they were interrupted by Chuck's father as he ran up and started talking.

"Chuck! The agent who came for Bryce, he isn't a CIA agent…he's supposed to be dead." Stephen said quickly.

"Dad, how could you possibly know that?" Chuck asked.

"Oh, screw it. I…I have an Intersect in my head. I tested the computer on myself, before I knew it could be downloaded into the brain. I was young and stupid, but the Intel was good. That man isn't CIA." Stephen said.

"Bryce…Bryce is getting the upload tonight." Chuck exclaimed.

"They're going to kill him and download the Intersect into their team instead."

Chuck and Sarah looked at each other before rushing off the dance floor, towards Casey's apartment. They pounded on the door until he opened and quickly briefed him on the situation. Knowing the general location of the facility they rushed to the Vic and sped off into the night, calling Beckman for the exact coordinates on the way.

Pulling up to the nondescript building, they opened the doors and rushed out, pulling their pistols as they went. They ran inside and found a few dead bodies at the desk, seeing that they were already behind the rogue agents. They continued moving down the hallway, finding the agents at the end of the hall and opening fire.

Chuck began pulling up the building designs on his phone which he had already connected to the mount on his wrist. He found an airshaft leading to the Intersect room.

"Hold them down guys, I've got another way in!" Chucks shouted as he pulled himself into the shaft. A few minutes later he dropped down into the blindingly white room with a pedestal in the middle. A slumped form on the ground immediately caught his eye.

"Bryce!" Chuck exclaimed, rushing over to him.

"Casey and Sarah are pinned down outside the door, ready to fight?" He asked.

"I'm on it," Bryce began as he tried to stand and then cringed, his hand reaching for his side. This was the first time that Chuck noticed blood.

"Bryce!" Chuck yelled as he held pressure on the wound. He shrugged off his backpack and pulled out his medical kit, pulling some bandages with clotting factor in them and packing the wound. He was shot in the upper left abdomen, lots of organs to nick and bleed in there. Bryce groaned and squirmed at the pain from the clotting factor in the bandages but didn't say anything about it. Instead he reached up and handed him a computer chip.

"This will destroy the Intersect. This new computer is too powerful; you can't let them get it." Bryce handed him the chip and then went unconscious. Noting that he was still breathing for now, Chuck rushed to the computer.

He paused before loading the chip, thinking. Despite his reservations about the Intersect lately, he knew that it made him a better spy. He knew he could do the job without it, but the benefits and the need that the country had for it…he couldn't walk away from that. Coming to a snap decision, Chuck placed his hand on the scanner, initiating the download.

The images were blinding; picture after picture flashed before his eyes and he was paralyzed, unable to move until the final picture had finally displayed itself. Finally powering down, Chuck narrowly avoided passing out as he slide the chip home, destroying the Intersect in a flash of sparks and tiny explosions. Chuck rushed to the door and opened it, raising his gun and opening fire on the exposed backside of the enemy agents. Most of them dropped, but the ones that didn't exposed themselves to the fire of Sarah and Casey who quickly forced them to join their friends.

His team rushed into the room to find him hovering over Bryce, his hands busy at work. Chuck used the expanded medical kit to his advantage, cutting Bryce's shirt open and using a scalpel to slice the skin open.

"Bryce! Chuck, what in the hell is going on?" Sarah asked.

"Flashed, new Intersect, explain later, trying to save Bryce." Chuck grunted.

"Casey, start an IV and run a bag of fluids in, fast. Sarah, hand me the forceps." Chuck continued to bark out orders as he removed the bullet and set to work clamping and the stitching Bryce's internal organs. The internal damage now controlled, Chuck finished stitching him up as the CIA medics arrived, loading Bryce up and taking him away on a stretcher after informing them that his vitals were stable.

Chuck stood and looked at his friends. "Guys…I just did surgery." Chuck said before promptly passing out.


	12. Chapter 12 Chuck vs the Cruise Part I

**A/N: So these next few chapters are going to be following a purely AU arch...gotta fill that six month gap between season's 2 and 3 somehow! Luckily no angry lover's spats leading to our favorite two spies dating the wrong people for months will be occurring, so don't you fear.**

 **As always, thank you all so much for continuing to read and support this story. I couldn't do it without you guys, and every review and new fav/follow puts a huge smile on my face, so thank you all for being awesome and still being just as in love with Chuck as I am.**

 **Finally, if you are looking for another great fic to read, I highly recommend Chuck vs. Semper Fi by Mh60r. It's a great piece of AU that I am shamelessly plugging because I'm really enjoying reading it, so definitely check it out!**

 **I do not own Chuck, but as the View has pointed out to me, I do own a 'doctor's stethoscope,' so that's pretty fun.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 12

Chuck vs. the Cruise Part I

 _April 15, 2009_

 _On Board the_ Anthem of the Seas _Cruise Liner_

 _North Pacific Ocean_

 _Cruise Day 3: 3,000 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)_

 _0015 Pacific Time_

Chuck fell back against the pillows of the massive bed. One benefit of taking a vacation when you worked for the CIA was that if you took a cruise to the Bahamas you were listed as 'security officers' on the ship's manifest and the U.S. Government was picking up the tab. Beckman had insisted it was the least she could do for the debacle that had been the week leading up to his sister's wedding, and so the General had sprung for a Royal Suite on the Royal Caribbean Cruise, complete with a balcony, Jacuzzi bathtub and even a baby grand piano. When Chuck had first viewed the room, he felt that it was far too much, but Sarah had quickly pulled him into the Jacuzzi for a relaxing soak and drove the worries from his mind.

Chuck was pulled from his reflections as Sarah stirred in his arms. They had boarded the _Anthem of the Seas_ two days ago at the port in Honolulu on the south shore of Oahu in Hawaii, and ever since they had been thoroughly exhausting themselves enjoying each other's company in their private suite. Now completely spent, Chuck merely enjoyed the feel of his Sarah in his arms as he thought about the sheer massive size of this ship and how badly he wanted to explore it. Maybe he could even convince Sarah to use their badges to gain access to the bridge so he could drool over some of the advanced electronics.

He thought back on their arrival in Honolulu; the day was absolutely perfect, not that he expected anything else of the tropical paradise state. They stepped onto the curb at Honolulu International Airport, blinking as they pulled on their sunglasses.

"Chuck, look at this place, it's beautiful!" Sarah exclaimed as she took it all in.

"It really is. I guess you're probably used to this, huh?" Chuck asked.

"Well, the thing is Chuck...I may have a lot of stamps in my passport but I feel like I've never actually seen any of the places, if that makes any sense. This is the first time it's really registering." Sarah smiled up at him as he draped his arm around her and kissed her on the side of the head.

"Well, plenty to see honey. Two week cruise from Hawaii through the Panama Canal…hanging out in the Bahamas before cruising up to Paris? This is going to be one hell of a vacation!" Chuck squeezed her tight as she laughed.

"You better believe it, sweetie."

They waited on the curb until they could hail a cab that wasn't in use. As chuck raised his arm to flag one down, the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Chuck turned his head minutely to the left, using the reflection in the car windows to view behind him; nothing looked out of the ordinary. Chuck thought he saw a tall man with dark hair looking at him in the window, but then a woman in front of him raised her arm and rushed to the man, wrapping him in her arms. Chuck shook this off and mentally scolded himself for being jumpy, and in doing so he missed Sarah's imperceptible (well, imperceptible to anyone but him, and perhaps Casey on a good day) assessment of the area, indicating that she was spooked as well.

The two ignored their instincts and got into the taxi, taking off around the island, telling the driver to take a long, round-about way to Honolulu Harbor so they could take in the lush green foliage and sights of the island. Sarah leaned into Chuck's shoulder, laying her hand on his chest as she smiled out the window. Chuck happily kissed the top of her head, stroking her hair as they looked on together.

"I've been meaning to ask, how did Beckman take the news?" Sarah asked.

"Which particular news is that?"

"Well, everything really…we haven't been able to talk much the last few days." She finished sadly. Chuck, Sarah, Bryce and Casey had all been whisked away separately immediately following the download of the Intersect 2.0; Chuck and Bryce had been taken to the hospital and Sarah and Casey supervised the transfer of the few enemy agents they had taken alive to a holding facility.

"Oh, about as well as could be expected. Happy Bryce made it, annoyed that we destroyed yet another Intersect…oh, and incredibly pissed that Morgan knows so yeah, that part was fun."

Sarah snorted as she snuggled in closer to Chuck, the taxi riding deeper into the island as the driver named off the different attractions around them. None of them noticed the red sedan that was tailing them.

Three beeps sounded from the TV screen in their cabin onboard the ship, pulling Chuck from his memories as General Beckman's face filled the screen.

"Well, I must say I was hoping to find the two of you clothed, but I suppose the blankets are a nice touch."

Chuck scowled at the superior officer. "No offense ma'am, but when we chose our resting position, it was not with you in mind. Can we help you?"

"Well, I take it from your not-so-pleasant tone that you would prefer to keep this brief. This is the only time I will bother you on your vacation, which appears to be the safest option for everyone and their eyesight. Colonel Casey will be joining you both on board. Before you jump down my throat," She added as Chuck and Sarah both opened their mouths to protest. "It is a precaution only. In the desk drawer you will find two top-secret folders for each of you, eyes only classification. These are dossiers on the new threat you discovered after saving Agent Larkin.

"We believe they call themselves 'the Ring' and apparently Fulcrum was merely a division that functioned under them. We honestly do not know much, but until we know more, I didn't want you on your own without any backup. Colonel Casey has brought all of your weapons and mission gear, just in case. We ran preliminary background checks on all passengers and crew prior to your departure but we are running a more thorough vetting process of all on board now that we are beginning to get a better handle on this threat. I will be in touch if there is anything of note, but in the meantime please focus on enjoying your vacation."

The screen went black and Chuck and Sarah were left in silence.

"Well, Casey is going to be just wonderful to be around now that we pulled him away from a three week combat tour…"

It was a sad testament to how well the team knew each other that they knew the Colonel was going to be genuinely pissed – and that he was going to be taking it out on Chuck and Sarah.

* * *

 _April 16, 2009_

 _On Board the_ Anthem of the Seas _Cruise Liner_

 _North Pacific Ocean_

 _Cruise Day 3: 2,460 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)_

 _1820 US Mountain Time_

"I'm completely exposed, I need some covering fire, now!" Colonel John Casey, USMC, NSA yelled into his boom mic as he ran as fast as he could towards the nearest cover, pulling his rifle tight into the crook of his arm and bringing it down to bear on the enemy. He fired two shots in rapid succession, taking down the combatants about to flank him and his team.

"Alpha-2, Alpha-1, flanking party is eliminated, we should make a run to secure the target now, are you ready?"

Alpha-1 hesitated before answering. "Alpha-2, are you sure? Little aggressive even for us, isn't it Casey?"

"Just do it, moron." Casey hissed.

Chuck broke from their cover position, dressed all in black and made a run for the target.

"Careful, moron, you're gonna get killed!" Casey yelled.

His partner ignored him and ran towards the enemy's position where they were dug in, guarding their prize. He opened fire, taking down three of them before they even knew he was there. He stepped up on a box in front of the wall they were hiding behind and he vaulted it, rolling on the other side and bringing his rifle around. He took down another two enemies and was continuing to move forward but he did not see the single figure sneaking up behind him until it was far too late.

Chuck crumpled to the ground in a heap as the round took him in the chest, a single "oh," escaping his lips before he could no longer draw breath.

"Chuck, no!" Sarah shouted from across the room as four more rifles opened fire on the fallen man.

"Chuck!" Sarah yelled again over the gunfire. The comms remained silent and Casey growled as he ran forward to defend his fallen partner. He let out a guttural howl of rage, the likes of which Sarah had never heard before as he ran forward, the intent to kill clearly plastered on his face.

* * *

 _April 16, 2009_

 _On Board the_ Anthem of the Seas _Cruise Liner_

 _North Pacific Ocean_

 _Cruise Day 3: 2,700 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)_

 _1014 US Mountain Time_

 **8 hours earlier**

Chuck walked into the massive 'city center' of the cruise ship dressed in a flowery Hawaiian shirt that Sarah had bought for him at the airport and a pair of cargo shorts, with Sarah in a dazzlingly white sundress attached to his arm. He blinked as he looked around at the sheer size of the ship with dozens of food options and shops along the metal 'streets' and at least six stories of suites stacked up above them towards the glass dome above revealing the cloudless blue sky.

"Wow," Sarah breathed as she took in the spectacle as well.

"I know…can you imagine just how many computers there are in here alone. I should convince them to make me their permanent Nerd Herder on board, I would never leave."

They walked hand in hand through the boardwalk, stopping into some of the shops at random and buying souvenirs for themselves, their family, and even something for the Colonel.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing that we finally left our suite." Chuck said.

"Oh, I think staying definitely had its merits," Sarah said with a smile. "But yes, it's good to get out and stretch. I suppose we should try and find Casey, the helicopter carrying him should have landed a while ago."

They walked up towards the elevator, stopping at their suite to drop of their purchases. They finally emerged on the top deck and began strolling in the open sea air, closing their eyes as they enjoyed the sunlight.

"Ah, there's the Jolly Green Giant!" Chuck said as they rounded the curve of the deck and found Casey looming over them.

"Shut it, Moron." Casey growled.

"Well, you're even crabbier than usual…what did we pull you away from? Violence in Venezuela? Infiltration in Iran?"

"Cut the alliteration, Bartowski, you're not as cute as you think you are. And as a matter of fact, it was an Excursion in Ecuador." Casey said as he turned his back on them and led the way to the pool. Chuck's jaw dropped at the fact that the Colonel had just made a joke, and he was even more astounded at the fact that it was a joke he started.

"So what, the two of you couldn't handle this alone? There isn't even a confirmed threat. What was the point of even going through training if you can't take care of yourself, Bartowski?" Casey grunted, clearly not over the early end to his 'vacation.'

"I didn't ask for this Casey. We were just fine without you. Feel free to do your own thing, we don't need a babysitter any more than you need to do the sitting." Chuck said.

"Yeah, Colonel, go soak up some sun or whatever it is you do when there isn't a gun in your hand." Sarah said, linking her arm through Chuck's and pulling him towards a lounge chair by the pool.

"I doubt there's anything on this ship that would interest – woah! They have a wave pool? I haven't been surfing in years. See ya." With that brief dismissal, Casey was halfway across the deck towards the wave pool and Chuck and Sarah were alone again.

"I never would have taken him for a surfer." Sarah said, laughing.

"I bet he was a hippie at some point in his life." Chuck said and Sarah snorted, bursting into uncontrolled laughter.

They sat by the pool for hours, occasionally getting up and diving in to cool off and enjoy the water, but mostly just relaxing and talking to each other softly. All in all, they had only been on the ship for three days and they already felt more rested and content than they had in months. This vacation couldn't have come at a more perfect time.

It was around one in the afternoon when that all changed.

Chuck had just finished helping Sarah with her sunscreen when he turned his head and saw a large man with a shaved head, shoulder length beard and heavily tattooed arms, just before his eyes fluttered. _A single rose on a hill. CIA personnel file 112023199. Matthew Sherman, former USMC, CIA field ops for 6 years. KIA. A single rose on a hill._

 _No, no, no, no. Not here, not now!_ Chuck thought desperately.

"What just happened, Chuck?" Sarah asked, suddenly on alert.

"What? Nothing, everything's fine sweetheart." Chuck said nonchalantly.

"Don't lie to me, Chuck. You tensed up for a good solid eight seconds. Either you've been hiding a seizure disorder from me, or you just flashed. Now which is it, _sweetie_?" Sarah asked, squeezing the pressure point in his shoulder as she said the last word.

"Ah, easy Sarah, uncle! I flashed, okay?" Chuck said, twisting out of her grasp.

"Oh, calm down I barely even touched you."

"Yeah well, when you're not expecting it…sometimes I think you underestimate your own strength baby. Tall guy, twelve o'clock. Shaved head, long beard, he has all the markers for a Fulcrum agent, but the flash was from the Intersect 2.0, not the Fulcrum Intersect. My guess is we've just spotted our first Ring agent."

* * *

 _April 16, 2009_

 _On Board the_ Anthem of the Seas _Cruise Liner_

 _North Pacific Ocean_

 _Cruise Day 3: 2,474 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)_

 _1828 US Mountain Time_

 **Present Time**

Casey vaulted the same wall that Chuck now lay lifeless behind. He shouldered his rifle and fired off two headshots to those gathered directly in front of him and then rolled as Sarah landed behind him.

She quickly took down the last remaining enemy and then rushed to Chuck's side. As she knelt down next to him, Casey ran forward and secured the small device that the combatants had been guarding. A small screen displayed a countdown, 0:32 seconds. Casey thumbed the button on the front, and the countdown ceased. He appeared at Sarah's side as they both stood over Chuck's prone form.

* * *

 _April 16, 2009_

 _On Board the_ Anthem of the Seas _Cruise Liner_

 _North Pacific Ocean_

 _Cruise Day 3: 2,520 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)_

 _1430 US Mountain Time_

 **Four Hours Earlier**

Chuck and Sarah were sitting in Casey's cabin, waiting for a secure link to be established with General Beckman's office. They were sitting on the bed, stealing covert sidelong glances at each other. Casey had already snapped at them once for excessive cuddling and they felt it was best not to poke the bear. Still, they couldn't stop each other from stealing looks at one another.

"I can practically hear you two making googly eyes. Can't you keep it in your pants for five seconds?" Casey grunted, still annoyed.

"Case, you really need to lighten up. Have you forgotten this is a vacation?" Chuck quipped.

"No, I haven't forgotten, _my_ vacation was supposed to be spent running covert ops against the South American drug pipelines, but instead I'm here babysitting."

"The drug wars have been going on for decades, Colonel, I doubt you would turn the tide." Beckman's voice filled the room and her image followed on the screen shortly after.

"General!" Casey said as he snapped to attention.

"At ease, Colonel. You are on vacation and not even in uniform, you do not need to go to attention." She actually looked amused, a slightly unsettling sight to behold. "Team, this is not going to be a mission unless it needs to be. The man you identified, Matthew Sherman, was a deep cover agent with the CIA for several years. We believe whatever he is doing, he is undercover for an unrelated mission. You are to observe and report, but nothing more at this time. We will have a team board the ship at your stop in Jamaica to take over. Until then, continue enjoying your vacation but do not lose track of Sherman. Any questions?"

After shaking their heads, the screen went black. Without a word, Casey passed out files on their target and Chuck opened his laptop to begin doing some research.

"Alright, here's the deal lovebirds. Help me with the preliminary work and then I'll take first watch and you guys can enjoy the rest of your day, got it? Don't expect more favors like this in the future, the ship is getting to me."

With that, Casey went back to studying his copy of Sherman's dossier. Chuck and Sarah locked eyes, but Sarah simply shrugged and pulled her copy in front of her. Chuck looked back down to his computer and began pulling up everything he could think of; he followed Sherman's mission history and hacked into foreign government databases to pull their accounts of the incidents, hacked personal email accounts, and finally pulled up the ship's manifest.

Sherman certainly had a colorful history; arms deals in Somalia, cocaine smuggling in Columbia, and piracy in the Indian Ocean. If that wasn't a bad enough resume, Chuck found evidence of assassinations in allied countries, including Ireland, Saudi Arabia, China, England, Australia, Canada and South Korea. _Someone's been a busy little rogue spy,_ Chuck thought to himself.

It was about half an hour into Chuck's search that something odd jumped out at him. He was reviewing a list of Sherman's all known aliases – he had never used the same one twice. In fact, he had never even used an alias that began with the same letter as his real last name. Chuck pulled up the ship's manifest again to make sure – Sherman was using his real name on the cruise. _Odd._

Chuck scanned the manifest closer; Sherman was traveling with four other people in adjacent suites. Three other Shermans (Ben and Mary, ages 68 and 65 respectively, and Elizabeth, age 29), and in his suite with him was a Laura Wexler, age 33. They had also booked a champagne and couples package.

"Hey guys…" Chuck said slowly. "I think this is going to turn into more than just an observe and report." Chuck showed them everything he had just found on his computer. "I think he's here for an engagement party…we just stumbled upon a free opportunity to turn a Ring operative into our own personal mole."

* * *

 _April 16, 2009_

 _On Board the_ Anthem of the Seas _Cruise Liner_

 _North Pacific Ocean_

 _Cruise Day 3: 2,474 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)_

 _1830 US Mountain Time_

 **Present Time**

Sarah rolled Chuck over and he coughed before sitting up and looking over at her, still winded.

"Wow that hurt," he said breathlessly.

All around them, the bodies of the former enemy team appeared to reanimate as they all stood up, the one who shot Chuck walking directly up to them.

"You guys sure play a mean game of paintball," he said with a smile. "I think that's a new record if I'm not mistaken." The man held up his hand and helped Chuck to his feet, holding their grip after he was standing in a firm handshake. "Matt Sherman."

"Charles Carmichael, you can call me Chuck. Nice to meet you Matt, this is my girlfriend, Sarah. The big burly guy over there is Sarah's step-brother, John. He's a gentle giant, I swear." Sarah and Casey shook Sherman's hand as they were introduced.

"Nice to meet you all, this is my fiancée Laura, my sister Liz and my parents Ben and Mary." Pleasantries were exchanged all around and the group walked out of the paintball arena towards the locker rooms, talking and joking amicably.

After changing out of the cruise ship's jumpsuits, they all met back in the lobby where the Sherman's invited them to dinner, an invite they were all too happy to accept. They walked to the nearby outdoor restaurant in the aft section of the deck. Chuck pulled out Sarah's seat for her before sitting down himself. They ordered appetizers and shared stories (some real and some not quite so real), and got to know the people they were sitting with.

Chuck quickly learned three things about their mark. He was very, very good at hiding his training, making every glance around the table appear normal yet at the same time it was obvious that he was taking in every detail of his surroundings. His skills were excellent, especially his reflexes as he caught the knife that his fiancée dropped by the handle, even while looking the other way while he was locked in a conversation with Casey. Finally, Chuck learned that the man before them would do anything for the individuals surrounding him. His face utterly glowed when talking about them or listening to someone tell a story that he had heard who knew how many times.

The impression he was getting was that this was someone very like himself, just on the wrong side of the line. Chuck knew how to work with that. Halfway through dinner, he was about to try and get Sherman on his own when his pocket began to chirp out the notes to the Mexican Hat Dance.

"Really honey, you changed my ringtone again?" Chuck asked with a laugh.

"Wow, you guys pay for the cell service on board? That gets pricey, doesn't it?" Laura asked.

"No, no. Couldn't afford that! It's a satellite phone, I run a tech company and one of my more…shall we say persistent clients loaned me one so he could check in. I'll be just a second," Chuck stepped away and thumbed answer. "Yes, hello Mr. Gates! Yes, yes we just entered the prototype into our debugging phase. We think we found the problem you were having…"

Chuck trailed off as he got out of earshot of the table. "What do you want Morgan? I told you to use this number for an emergency only." It was tough for him to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"No, I know that Chuck, I just thought you know, you're off in some exotic land and you could probably use the skills of me, your best pal. Anything you need Chuck, recon, assault, infiltration, sabotage, you just say it I'm there dude."

"Morgan, I really am on vacation. I'm on a cruise ship right now, eating dinner with Sarah."

"Ohhh, I see, eating dinner, new euphemism, huh? Well, do you think you could a word in to the big boss for me? Am I officially part of the team yet, or what?" Morgan asked, speaking a mile a minute.

"Let's uh, let's walk before we can run, huh buddy? Maybe crawl before that…" Chuck said.

"Ok, fine. But when you get back, we seriously need to have a boys night, maybe an old school, all-night game night like we did in high school."

"Yeah, that sounds great buddy. Look, I need to go, ok? Only emergencies from now on."

"Yes sir!" Morgan exclaimed as Chuck thumbed the line dead. He walked back to the table, noticing it was empty except for Sherman himself as he approached.

"They all went over to the dessert buffet, they just set it out. I offered to stay behind and wait for you. Shall we?" He asked, making to stand.

"Why don't we wait just a second, I've got something to say that you might want to pay attention to." Chuck said seriously as he pulled back the slide of his Glock under the table. Sherman immediately tensed up, his hand automatically covering the knife next to his plate.

"I knew something was off about you. Who are you? FSB? Or are you one of the unofficial ones, Al Qaeda, Volkhov Industries? Whoever it is, you're barking up the wrong tree. I will kill to defend my country and my family."

"Nice speech…but you aren't fooling anyone. You couldn't care less about your country. You turned your back on your country four years ago when you faked your own death and joined a terrorist organization." Chuck said with distaste.

"You think I'm working with terrorists? We're the good guys, Chuck, if that's your real name. My people work within the confines of the CIA, off the books so we can do the job that the government can't acknowledge." He spoke with such conviction; Chuck didn't think he was faking it.

"Listen, Matt. You're wrong. You don't think you are because they lied to you, but you are wrong. And I can prove it to you. Come by stateroom 406, 2300 tonight. We'll talk terms."

"And why should I trust you instead of killing you right now?" Sherman asked calmly.

"Well, for one thing you would have a lot of explaining to do. But number two, my unbelievably hot girlfriend over there is also CIA, that's actually how we met, real Cinderella story. And her stepbrother is NSA, and awfully cranky."

"You can do whatever you want to me, but you hurt anyone in my family and you will wish you'd never met me." Sherman said angrily.

"What? I would never hurt…never mind. The main reason you're going to come by tonight is that your family has no idea what your real career is, or what you have done. I'm pretty forgetful, if you don't show I may accidentally leave this unredacted file that I've put together on you and your 'work history' just laying around in their cabin. I also have some handy video files that I've found." Chuck said, holding up a thumb drive as the color drained from Sherman's face. His hand curled around the handle of the knife, his knuckles turning white and his hands shaking.

"There you two are, come on! You're going to miss out on all the good dessert!" Sarah and Laura had joined them again and pulled their attention from each other.

"Matt, sweetheart, everything ok? You're super tense." Laura set down her plate of cake and started rubbing his shoulders.

"Yeah, everything is fine, I just have a stomach cramp. I'll pass on dessert baby, thanks though." He said with a smile as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Well I just have one heck of a sweet tooth acting up, so I'll be right back!" Chuck said, smiling broadly. He got up and started heading towards the dessert cart.

"Bring me an éclair if they put them out baby, they were all out when I was up there!" Sarah said sadly. Chuck waved an ok signal at her and walked off, meeting up with Casey as he picked through the cake.

"Well?" Casey grunted.

"I think he bit down hard on the bait. I'm pretty confident he'll show, but if not we'll go to plan B." Chucks said.

"What is plan B?"

"Not sure yet…I'll let you know when I come up with it."

* * *

 _April 16, 2009_

 _On Board the_ Anthem of the Seas _Cruise Liner_

 _North Pacific Ocean_

 _Cruise Day 3: 2,324 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)_

 _2302 US Mountain Time_

"You think he's going to show?" Casey asked as he cleaned his gun for the third time.

"Relax, Casey, not everyone has an internal atomic clock like you."

"That's called Marine Corps punctuality and for a fellow jarhead, even one who's a traitor, I still expected better."

Chuck was spared the necessity of response by a soft knock on the door. The three of them stood up, weapons in a low ready position as Sarah walked to the door and pulled it open, stepping behind it to use it as cover.

"You can put those down, I'm here to talk, as ordered." Sherman said, annoyed.

They put their weapons down as Sarah closed the door behind him.

"Fine, take a seat, Moron." Casey said. "We've got a little video conference coming in here. Do you remember the name of the current NSA director?"

"Sure, everyone is well aware of General Beckman and her reputation. She doesn't do video conferencing though, she prefers to give her orders via written courier drop, she's old school spy."

"Not quite, Mr. Sherman." Beckman had materialized on the screen.

"Ma'am? Due respect, but would you please explain to me why your agents are threatening me and my family?"

Beckman scowled intensely at the man before her.

"I don't think any of us owe you anything. You are a traitor to your country and to your own family. You've been working for a terrorist cell posing as a government black ops team for the last half decade. What do you know about your employer?"

"The division I work with is called the Ring, officially a division of the CIA but we work hand-in-hand with the NSA and multiple other agencies too from the military to local police. We do covert ops that the government can't acknowledge, operating within the system to prevent another 9/11. But General, you know all this…I mean, you delivered our recruitment address."

Beckman scowled at him silently for a few seconds before she responded.

"I assure you, I have never been affiliated in any way with an organization other than the NSA and the US Air Force. Furthermore, as Director of the NSA, I have full knowledge of all covert teams and organizations within the NSA and CIA, and 'The Ring' is not one of them. What do you remember from this speech?"

"Well, you were sitting at the end of a conference table in your dress blues…kind of like now…and you gave a fairly moving speech about the dangers of complacency, importance of situational awareness, and the benefits of long term covers. You addressed us specifically as new Ring agents." Sherman said, somewhat defensively.

"That speech was one I delivered to the NSA recruit class in 2005. I had to give it via video feed because I was busy tracking a terrorist cell that was piggy-backing on the chaos of Katrina. The Ring clearly stole the video and doctored it. In fact, I have the same video on file still."

Beckman pressed a button off-screen and the video that Sherman had described began playing. However, in the beginning Beckman clearly said "Congratulations on becoming full agents of the NSA" before launching into her speech.

"I've seen enough." Sherman said dejectedly. "Stop the tape. I get it…how can I make this right?"

"We need a man inside the Ring. We know precious little about the organization right now, all of our efforts were focused on Fulcrum. I assume you've heard of them?"

"Yes ma'am, they were a lower division of the Ring." Sherman replied promptly.

"I won't lie. This will be dangerous, to you and to your family. We know your family is a closely guarded secret, but so are many things. I do not want you to accept this position lightly, nor are you forced into accepting it. We're not the Ring; we do not force our people to take possible suicide missions. If you decline, we will take you and your family off grid, tonight, and get you all to safety. But if you choose to accept, we will do everything in our power to protect you and your family. Do not take this decision lightly."

With that final speech, the screen went black once more and the cabin fell silent.

"So my entire career these last few years has been a lie…" Sherman was clearly zoned out, processing everything he just heard.

"We'll give you a minute to think it over." Casey said as he stood to leave.

"I don't need a minute. These people lied to me, and made me into the very thing I thought I was fighting. I'm in, you found your mole."

"Well, from a fellow Devil Dog, welcome back to the good guys. We've covered enough tonight, we don't need to throw any more at you." Casey said as he sat back down to finish cleaning his Sig.

"Yeah, go get some sleep, think it over. And for what it's worth, don't beat yourself up too much. You were tricked, you didn't choose to go rogue. We're no longer your enemy so if you need anything, come to us. These are our cabin phone numbers, if we don't answer the cabin phones, dial 799 and that will take you to an onboard switcher that will connect you to our Sat phone." Chuck said, handing him a note with the numbers he mentioned.

"Thank you…all of you. I'm going to make this right." Sherman said emphatically, getting to his feet. He left the cabin, closing the door behind him before three beeps sounded from the TV once more.

"Good, you're all still here. We are flying out your backup team tonight, they will be scouting the area and ensuring no further Ring operatives will be waiting. Anything to report on Sherman?"

"Yes ma'am," Sarah said. "Sherman has taken the offer, he's agreed to be our mole."

"Excellent. Well done, team. Introduce him to your backup when they arrive, you will have a three man team including a new recruit that, I warn you, is completely green. This recruit is based off of a recent recommendation from you, Agent Bartowski, so bear with me here. This should be a straightforward operation for him to wet his feet on. The six of you will be working together to run this asset. I'll let them introduce themselves when they arrive. Until then, continue to lie low and enjoy your time. Goodnight, team."

Beckman disappeared for the second time that night, and the team looked at each other meaningfully.

"Who did you recommend?" Casey asked.

"You know, I'll be honest. I have no idea." Chuck said. "I haven't recommended anyone for field work or work of any kind recently…I guess we'll find out in a few days. We should get to bed though, so you have a swell night there Casey."

Casey merely grunted, which for him was as warm and fuzzy as it gets. Chuck and Sarah left the cabin hand in hand and headed for their own suite. When they arrived, they began stripping out of their day clothes and Chuck held Sarah close from behind as he spread lotion on her arms and back.

"I have a surprise for you." He said.

"Chuck, you know I hate surprises."

"This is a good surprise, Sarah. Trust me." He walked over to the entertainment center, complete with an old school record player. "I found a gift shop that sells old records onboard. I've been trying to find this song for a long time to play for you, and I found it. I think I finally found the one." Ever since they had started dating, Chuck had made it his mission to introduce Sarah to music and movies, something she had never had the time to enjoy during her life with her father and then with the CIA.

"This is going to be your favorite song, baby." Chuck lowered down the needle and the soft, deep voice of Nina Simone began playing from the speaker.

Sarah closed her eyes as she let the slow melody wash over her. She smiled and nodded her appreciation. "I like this." She said.

Chuck knelt down on the bed next to her and kissed her, pulling her down with him to lie next to each other. She quickly drew up close to him, laying her head on his chest and intertwining their legs. She looked up at him with a smile and he quickly met her lips with his own as the music played on.

* * *

 _April 18, 2009_

 _On Board the_ Anthem of the Seas _Cruise Liner_

 _North Pacific Ocean_

 _Cruise Day 5: 1,202 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)_

 _0918 US Central Time_

Sarah looked down at her hand and twisted the small but elegant band of metal on her finger. She smiled warmly as she thought about the events of the day before. Chuck and Sarah had spent all of it in the company of Matt and his family. Despite his unfortunate career track, he was a very likeable guy and actually had a lot in common with Chuck – Matt was a huge nerd in high school, but had grown out of it when he had joined the Marine Corps.

Likewise, Sarah grew close very quickly with Matt's fiancée, Laura. The two women sat sipping on drinks and were awfully giggly as they shared past stories and future dreams for themselves and their families, Sarah's dreams, of course, being heavily modified from the truth.

There had been a fair amount of work as well, as Matt and Chuck had spent over an hour that day in Matt's cabin, going over Intel while Sarah and Laura went to the onboard spa. They shared Intel from both sides, Chuck continuing to show Matt evidence against the Ring to cement his loyalty and Matt began sharing what he could with Chuck about his employers.

When evening fell they gathered on the balcony in their private Suite with Casey and the Shermans as they watched a fireworks show being displayed from a barge off the southern coast of Mexico. The display was truly amazing, and for a moment Chuck let himself forget the mission and simply enjoyed the show with his girlfriend and their new couple friends. Not quite ready to turn in, they headed back down to the main deck, dressed to party. They proceeded to the forward section where the bars were located and spent some time dancing and drinking, enjoying each other's company.

"What do you say we head over somewhere a little more relaxing?" Chuck had asked. The others agreed and they walked up the stairs to the outdoor piano bar. Chuck and Matt went to get drinks and brought them back to the table. Shortly after sitting down, the couples began to share anecdotes about each other, and while Chuck was sharing one such story about Sarah he reached over naturally to brush a stray hair behind her ear. As he was bringing his hand back, he accidentally knocked his drink over.

"Ah! Apparently I've had more than I thought…I'll be right back, anyone else need another one? No? Alright…" Chuck wandered off towards the bar, and he could feel Sarah's eyes narrowed suspiciously as they followed him across the room. After all, she knew her boyfriend very well, and knew that after receiving his training he was no longer clumsy even when drinking. She became distracted however as Casey joined them at the table.

"Sorry to crash the party, Chuck texted me and said you were down here and my mini-bar is all out of Johnnie Walker. Mind if I join?"

"Of course not, John. I barely saw you today, where have you been?" Laura asked.

"They have a gun range." Casey replied simply.

Laura smiled awkwardly as though she wasn't sure how to respond, but she was spared the necessity as the lights dimmed, leaving them bathed in starlight and a soft piano rift began to play from the stage. A spotlight snapped on and Sarah's jaw dropped as she saw Chuck's curls from behind the piano. She knew that he had taken lessons when he was a child and that he still enjoyed playing from time to time (evidenced by their piano at home and his soft serenades on the baby grand in their onboard suite), but to see him playing in public with such finesse was astounding.

Tears began to form in her eyes as she finally recognized the melody behind the piano rifts – Nina Simone's _Feeling Good_ , the song Chuck had (correctly) decided would be her favorite. A single tear fell down her cheek, and Chuck made eye contact with her across the room as he began to sing.

 _Birds flying high, you know how I feel._

 _Sun in the sky, you know how I feel._

 _Breeze drifting on by, you know how I feel._

 _It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me._

 _Yeah, it's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me._

 _Ouh (scatting)_

 _And I'm feeling good._

The band behind Chuck joined in now as he continued singing the next few lines, occasionally breaking back in with some beautiful piano rifts. She knew he could play well, but she never expected him to play this well, and definitely had no idea he could sing this well, not in front of people. Chuck had always been a shy person, even after his spy training, and words couldn't express how touched she was that he was up there singing in front of God and everyone, for her.

He finished singing and broke into a final piano solo, motioning for her to come join him with a jerk of his head. She slowly stood and walked across the room in a dream-like state and stood in front of the stage. He jerked his head again and stood up from the piano, letting the band take over as he held out his hand and pulled her up there with him. He placed his hand in the small of her back and pulled her into him as she placed both of her palms flat on his chest.

"You've been holding out on me, Mr. Bartowski." She said with a smile. She looked up to give herself a moment and hopefully prevent any more tears from falling. _Damn you, Chuck._ She thought to herself. She hated crying. In looking up she caught sight of the huge full moon.

"Look at the moon, Chuck." Sarah said, mostly to give herself some more time to gain her composure. Chuck looked up and smiled, the moon was just above the distant coast, casting the whole ocean and the land that was in view in a beautiful glow.

"It's perfect," he said, looking back down at her. They shared a brief kiss.

"I've been to so many places around the world," Sarah said when they parted. "But never been to a place as beautiful as this."

"I have." Chuck said, breathlessly. Sarah looked at him curiously, slightly stung at his dismissal of her brief, but heartfelt confession. Chuck looked back at her confidently. "Every day. Every morning when I wake up and I look at you. When we…brush our teeth tandem style." Sarah couldn't help but giggle at that.

"When we watch TV together. Whatever, anything, always, every time I look at you. It's the most beautiful place I've ever been." Sarah was overwhelmed at how sweet this was, but she was beginning to grow suspicious of what was really happening…especially as she noticed Casey's camera trained on her. I just, I feel like I-I should be James Bond right now, you know? The-the guy who's standing on this stage with you right now in this moment, I mean…"

Sarah ignored the distractions around her as she honed in on what Chuck was saying and she interrupted him, needing him to understand. "I didn't fall in love with James Bond; I fell in love with you." Her words had the desired effect as Chuck broke into a megawatt smile.

"Sarah I have something I need to ask you, so please just don't freak out." He said, echoing her words back to her from their 'first date.'

Sarah smiled at the memory. "I won't." She said.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And for the record, as you can see this time it _is_ because I love you and not 'just because you're pregnant,' though the first time was also just because I love you. But I really, really do want to spend the rest of my life with you. Going on missions, saving the day and being heroes but mostly, though, I just want to be with you. At your side, always. Sarah," Chuck paused as he got down on one knee, her hands flying to cover her mouth and the massive smile that was plastered there. "Will you marry me?"

Sarah fell to her knees with him and framed his head in her hands, pulling his lips to hers as they kissed with fierce passion. The crowd burst out cheering, and Sarah felt like she was in the middle of some movie or TV show, she couldn't believe this was real. When they finally separated their lips, she smiled at him, speechless but she didn't need to say a word; her eyes said it all. Chuck pulled the ring from the box, a pure silver band with a beautiful diamond. He slid it into place on her finger and pulled her to her feet, kissing her once again.

"That was much better this time, Chuck." Sarah said with a smile. Chuck held up her hand and then took a bow, walking off the stage as the cheering began to die down. They walked back to the table hand-in-hand and exchanged congratulations. Matt smiled kindly, Laura had tears in her eyes and even Casey appeared a little choked up.

"Did you get it, Casey?" Chuck asked.

"No, moron, I just had the camera aimed at you but forgot to turn it on." Casey said, but without his usual sting behind the comments.

"Thanks, Casey." Chuck said, ignoring him. "Ellie would have killed me if I didn't."

"I'm going to go see if the gun range is still open." Casey said as he stood from the table, rubbing his eye and complaining about an allergy to pepper, though no pepper was present on the table.

That all happened the night before, and now Sarah was sitting at a table in one of the restaurants eating breakfast as she watched the rain fall outside of the window. As they steamed closer to the Panama Canal and their stop in the Caribbean, a swift rainstorm had blown in around the ship and forced the vast majority of the vacationers into their cabin or the artificial city. She smiled as she looked across the table at her fiancée who was enjoying his chocolate croissant. Although, to be honest, she hadn't stopped smiling since last night, even when they had gone to bed.

As Chuck met her eyes, he smiled as well. He grabbed her hand and rubbed it with his thumb as they sat in comfortable silence. After breakfast they went for a walk down the fake cobblestones.

"I have a surprise for you." Sarah said.

"Hmm…a surprise from the woman who hates them with every fiber of her being. Not sure if I should be afraid or excited." He said.

"Definitely excited, Chuck."

They took the elevator to the top deck and headed towards the bow. They arrived outside of a heavy steal hatch and Sarah knocked. Chuck looked at her curiously but she silenced him with a look. The sound of beeping came from the other side of the door and the keypad on their side turned from red to green. The hatch opened and out stepped a man in a white uniform with black shoulder boards.

"Agent Walker!" The man exclaimed.

"First Officer Smith," Sarah said with a smile as she shook his hand.

"It's Staff Captain now, actually. It's good to see you, Sarah."

"You too, Paul. This is my fiancée, Chuck." The man shook his hand genially. "Chuck, this is Paul Smith, former US Navy. He helped me out of a tight spot one time, and I mean that literally."

"Oh please, it was nothing." He said with a kind smile.

"You took a nuclear submarine that is thirty-five feet tall into an underwater cave that had a thirty-eight foot opening. If that was nothing than I was a pretty horrible agent by comparison." She said.

"Well, the work you did that forced you into that position was pretty phenomenal as well, not that I have any official knowledge of any of that. This is quite a woman that you are engaged to, Chuck, never met anyone like her."

"Tell me about it," he said. "You think working with her is terrifying, you should try having a fight. The necessary reflexes take a long time to hone." The three laughed as Smith invited them onto the bridge.

"So Sarah told me the other day that you're into electronics Chuck. Well, welcome aboard, this is the most technologically advanced ship in our fleet. It is almost as advanced as the subs I used to command." Chuck was looking around with his jaw wide open as he took in the function of the many display screens and keyboards around him. Sarah smiled as he hard core nerded out.

As Chuck was looking around they heard a curse from across the room.

"Captain Smith, the radar is down again, I don't know what in the hell keeps going wrong with it." Another member of the deck staff was standing by an open access panel with a screwdriver in hand.

"Mind if I take a look? I'm pretty good with this stuff." Chuck offered. Smith looked reluctant but after a confident nod from Sarah, he agreed to let Chuck look around.

Chuck got down on the ground and crawled underneath the counter.

"So what's wrong with it?" He asked as he began poking at wires and the other internal components.

"Well, the screen will occasionally freeze and then it will jump dozens of miles at a time to the current location." The technician said.

"Well, if you're still able to see images when it is working, it's not a dead magnetron. It sounds a little more like a problem with the screen. Have you tried switching the display from the DLP to the PDP 1920x1080 setting? If not I would try that. Let me make sure all the components are still functioning well first though…hang on. Do any of you know anything about this splicing situation down here?" Chuck asked.

The tech looked confused as he got down on his knees next to him and looked in the panel.

"That isn't our work…I have no idea where that came from." The tech said.

Chuck crawled back out and began following the wires until he reached the main navigation station.

"Excuse me, Captain. Do you mind if I access that panel?" Chuck asked the man sitting at the helm.

"Not if it solves this radar issue, Son. I'm sick and tired of that stupid thing. I miss the days of just a map and a compass." The Master Captain introduced himself as Steve Roberts, standing aside to let Chuck access the panel.

Chuck talked amicably with the man until he finished unscrewing the panel and he looked inside. Suddenly his face slipped into a stoic mask and his body went stock still.

"Chuck…everything okay?" Sarah asked, suddenly on edge as well.

"Um…not really, Sarah. We have a big problem. Captain, I'm going to need access to your video security logs, and your radio room, right away."

"Don't mean to be rude, Son, but who are you to ask for that?" Captain Roberts asked.

"Sir, this is Agent Bartowski and Agent Walker with the CIA, the ones we had the special briefing for before we boarded." Smith answered for them.

"Well, mind telling me what's going on first?" Captain Roberts asked, respectful yet blunt.

"Well, I would very much like to know why there are eight bricks of C4 at your fingertips and who set it there."

* * *

The link below is an instrumental version of Feelin' Good by Nina Simone that inspired the proposal scene. This is how I picture Chuck starting off the song before he begins singing.

watch?v=1Vrck1V7FdA


	13. Chapter 13 Chuck vs the Cruise Part II

**A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back! So very sorry for the almost two month delay, I am not very happy that it has taken this long. But the important thing is I am back with the next chapter! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and we should be getting back into more familiar territory in Chapter 14.**

* * *

Chapter 13

Chuck vs. the Cruise Part 2

 **April 18, 2009**

 **On Board the** ** _Anthem of the Seas_** **Cruise Liner**

 **North Pacific Ocean**

 **Cruise Day 5: 1,170 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)**

 **0958 US Central Time**

Chuck was standing on the bridge still, drenched in sweat. Sarah had notified Casey who had gone to the ship's radio room to hold a joint conference with Beckman and the US Navy Commander, US Pacific Command (CDRUSPACOM), the Admiral in charge of all combat fleets in the Pacific Ocean. After briefing them on the situation, Casey retrieved Sherman from his suite and brought him to the bridge as well.

"So you're sure this isn't a Ring op, Matt?" Chuck asked, his voice muffled as he held a screwdriver in his mouth.

"Well, no, but I'm sure that they didn't brief me on it. They don't even know I'm on the ship, I've never used my real name with them, I've kept it hidden from them. Granted, that doesn't mean it's impossible that they figured it out…you don't think this was to kill me, was it?"

"Doubtful," Casey chimed in. "There are a dozen other ways to kill you and all of them would have been safer bets at ensuring your death. This is more likely something else. Beckman says her Intel points to this being unrelated to the Ring but she can't be sure. She said there's been a spike in piracy and terrorist attacks among water traffic in the Ocean. In fact, just a few days ago a cargo ship was taken over in the Indian Ocean, SEALs are en route to deal with that issue."

"Wow, Somali pirates? Who would have thought? Oh right, this guy because I fl-" Chuck didn't finish his sentence as Sarah kicked him and the sound of his head impacting the counter he was laying under was clearly heard.

"Ow, what the hell? You just made me hit my head on some C4!" Chuck shouted from inside the cabinet.

"Matt's in here, remember?" Sarah asked in a whisper, leaning down next to him.

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry." Chuck's sheepish reply came muffled from down below.

"Has anyone checked with the Captain to see if his employers warned of any threats in the area?" Matt asked.

"I did, they have nothing." Casey promptly answered. "Navy says they've heard some chatter about a possible threat from eco-terrorists in the region. Intel says it is a multi-national group that is upset about the amount of pollution that is spread into the South American rain forests from the Panama Canal. That's where I'm putting my money."

"Alright, I'm done!" Chuck shouted happily as he crawled back out from underneath. "I agree with Casey, that's probably the most likely but it doesn't make any sense. Why blow up the bridge of the ship? All that will do is stall the ship somewhere, probably in the canal. Yeah, it'll disrupt things for a while, but you can move ships through with tug boats. It'll be tough with the size of this ship, but still possible. Sarah, you didn't find any more charges in here did you?"

Sarah shook her head no as the four spies looked thoughtful. Suddenly Chuck seemed to come to a realization.

"Captain Roberts, we need to get into your engine room." Chuck said quickly.

The captain obliged, having the Staff Captain take control while Roberts personally escorted them down to the engine room. After donning ear protection and stepping through the hatch, Chuck began poking his head through the essential systems but found nothing amiss.

"Bartowski, get over here!" Casey shouted.

Chuck rushed over to Casey's side; Casey was looking at several intricately positioned explosive charges that were placed on the ship's main generators. Chuck pulled out his knife and went to work cutting the wires, defusing the setup. He accomplished this on both generators within five minutes, no flashes necessary.

"Well, that was fairly easy…" Sarah said.

"Why would you say that, Sarah? What is wrong with you?" Chuck shouted, appalled.

"Seriously, Walker, is this your first day?"

"Hey guys…we have another problem." Matt said over their protests.

With another glare at Sarah as she shrugged apologetically, Chuck walked over towards Matt who was standing at the rear portion of the engines. Chuck rounded the corner and immediately saw the problem: a large dry storage tote marked NH4NO3 with a hose linking the tote to the fuel lines. Following the fuel lines, they found a massive array of C4 tied to a radio detonator.

"Is that…what I think it is?" Sarah asked.

"If you think it's a massive fertilizer bomb…then yes, yes it is sweetheart." Chuck said.

"Massive is an understatement, Bartowski. This thing won't just destroy the ship, it'll destroy the whole damn canal."

"Chuck me…" Sarah said, softly.

* * *

An hour later, after disconnecting the bomb from the detonator, they were all gathered in Chuck and Sarah's suite. Matt whistled appreciatively.

"Man…I wish you would have recruited me a long time ago if these are the kind of digs you guys get. And, you know, the whole unknowingly working for an evil organization thing kind of sucks too." Matt said.

They were all surprised as Casey laughed and began swapping Marine Corps stories with Matt. Despite his initial protests, Casey was warming up to their new asset.

Chuck and Sarah walked over to their bedroom and pulled out the satellite phone, putting it on speaker and calling Ellie and Devon who should have returned from their honeymoon late last night.

"Hello?" Ellie's voice rang out.

"Hey Sis!" Chuck said.

"Hi Ellie!" Sarah echoed soon after.

"Chuck! Sarah! Where are you two? I came by earlier but no one was home."

"We're actually on a cruise right now, El. We took that vacation we talked about. We both had our vacation time available and we decided to take it as soon as possible. We're close to the Panama Canal right now, we'll be going through to the Caribbean in the next few days. How was the honeymoon?" Chuck asked.

"It was amazing! The alps are absolutely beautiful this time of year, and so was Saint Tropez. We have so many great pictures to show you guys. You'd better be taking some too, we'll have to have you guys over for dinner when you get back and we'll share all about our trips."

"Of course, El, can't wait!" Chuck said.

"We've got some pretty big news for you when we get back!" Sarah said excitedly.

A loud squeal was all they could make out from the other end of the phone, and chuck had no doubt that he was probably going to have to replace the sound processer.

"I can't wait to hear it!" Ellie shouted when her words finally became coherent again.

"El, we didn't even say it's good news…" Chuck pointed out logically.

"It's all in Sarah's tone, little brother. Trust me, you can't hide these things from a woman. When does the cruise end?"

"We'll be cruising for about another week and then docking in France at the Port of La Havre. After that we're going to take the train through the country to Paris." Chuck answered.

"Aw, little brother! Didn't I tell you it would be worth it to wait to see the Eifel Tower until you got to see it with someone special? Chuck's always wanted to see the Eifel Tower. I remember when he was 14, he made a replica out of toothpicks and gave it to Julia Miller for Valentine's day in front of their entire class - " Ellie began.

"And okay, we have to get going El!" Chuck shouted over her. Sarah smirked as a blush crept up into his cheeks. "We'll talk to you soon, El. Tell Devon we say hi!"

They hung up the phone and proceeded back into the living room, where General Beckman was pictured on the screen.

"Well, now that the rest of the team has decided to join us, we can get started. The facial recognition software has finished running against the ship's manifest, and we have found a total of eight hits. These coincided with members of the Earth Liberation Front. The chatter that the Navy has been hearing lines up rather well with Intel we've received from assets in the area. We believe they are going to try and destroy the ship and the canal." Beckman finished.

"What's our mission here, General? We've disconnected the explosives from the detonators but they can still be triggered manually. We have round the clock guards, but they have limited training and arms on board, and with only four of us it is difficult to guard both the bridge and the engine room." Casey stated.

"I understand, Colonel. You're back up team is already en route via boat, they should arrive within the hour. We also have a detachment of Navy SEALs available for you if you need them. SEAL Team Four is currently attached to Carrier Strike Group Nine aboard the USS _George Washington_. They are currently cruising several hundred miles south of you, and have already been placed on high alert. Once you ask for them, they can be onboard within 11 minutes via helicopter insertion. Your mission is to kill or capture all of the enemy agents and prevent the destruction of the explosives. A Navy DOD team will arrive with your backup to further dispose of the devices. Any questions?"

The team shook their heads to the negative and Beckman took a deep breath.

"For the record, I apologize that you have been dragged into this on your vacation. The fact of the matter is, you are hands down my best team and there is no one I trust more with this assignment, or any assignment for that matter. Good luck, team."

With that, Beckman signed off and the team was left stunned. They had never heard such high praise from the General before, not even Casey.

"Wow. Looks like we caught the General in a good mood." Chuck quipped.

"No kidding. That was weird." Casey said.

"Well, better press on and meet this team. Matt, we don't have any extra gear with us, but the requisition form showed that they should have equipment for you."

"That's fine, I understand. Are you sure you're comfortable with me running around with you guys already? I wouldn't trust me if I were in your position." Matt said dejectedly.

"Matt, you made a mistake. Everyone deserves a second chance, and this is yours." If Chuck hadn't seen Casey's mouth moving, he would never have believed that he was the one who said it.

"Casey's right. But to be on the safe side, especially until you have equipment, you should probably stay behind and quarterback." Sarah said.

Matt nodded his assent and sat down at Chuck's laptop, pulling up the ship schematics and communication suites. Chuck, Casey and Sarah pulled on their vests and then placed shirts over them, going covert for the time being. They stashed the rest of their equipment in their backpacks and proceeded to head down to the lower level where they would be able to meet their backup team.

They were waiting down on the cargo deck with the hatch opened up, looking out into the great blue ocean. Chuck was sitting on the ground with his legs dangling off the side as they watched for any sign of their approaching team.

"So…an Eifel Tower made of toothpicks, huh?" Sarah asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Chuck said grumpily as Sarah smirked.

"Got something," Casey interrupted as he handed Chuck the binoculars he had been looking through. Chuck saw the small Zodiac boat skipping towards them and he couldn't believe his eyes as they got close enough to see who was on board.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." Chuck said.

"What is it?" Sarah asked, grabbing the binoculars. "Surely you can't be serious?"

"I am serious. And don't call me Shirley." Chuck said.

"What are you two girls talking about?" Casey asked, grabbing the binoculars again. "No. Nooo no, no, no, no, and no. I am not doing this."

The boat pulled up next to the cargo door and Chuck dropped the foldable ladder down to them. The three-person team climbed up one by one and smiled.

"Hi guys," Bryce said with a grin.

"Chuckles! Good to see you again!" Carina stepped up next, grabbing his arm and kissing him on the cheek as Sarah gave a Casey-like growl. "Oh, and John Casey! My this is going to be a fun weekend. Still rocking the clovers, big guy?" Carina pinched his butt as she said it and Casey looked close to blows.

The last member stepped forward and gave a salute. "Time to bag 'em and tag 'em Agent walker, Colonel. I hear there's a disease on board, and I'm the cure. Let's do this!"

Morgan Grimes was the third member of their team.

* * *

 **April 18, 2009**

 **On Board the** ** _Anthem of the Seas_** **Cruise Liner**

 **North Pacific Ocean**

 **Cruise Day 5: 1,108 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)**

 **1202 US Central Time**

The seven of them were sitting on the bridge of the ship. Casey and Bryce were standing at the tabletop navigation console; Casey had marked off the most likely approaches of anyone coming by boat – both direction and actual contact points – based off where the Intel indicated ELF bases. Sarah and Carina were discussing weapon loadouts and patrol shifts for the seven of them with Matt.

Chuck had the most difficult job of all; he was sitting in the corner with Morgan, trying to figure out what exactly to tell him. The bridge had been cleared of all the ship's staff, having set the ship on autopilot, so thankfully Chuck didn't have to worry about Morgan giving anything away at least.

"So how did this happen? Did they recruit you at the Buymore? Stanford?" Morgan asked, excited.

Chuck looked around as he tried to decide what to tell him. He didn't want to lie to him anymore, not now that he knew his secret. Morgan was his best friend in the world, and the lying was really getting to him. What's more, is if Beckman decided to send Morgan on a mission without consulting him first, then he had a right to tell him the full story.

Morgan, sensing his hesitation, broke the silence first. "Chuck, I know you guys are really good and all, but there is a pretty good chance we could die on this boat. This is no time for secrets."

Chuck made a snap decision. "You know what? You're right, buddy, and I'm sorry. Not just about this, but about all the lying the last two years. But before I tell you the full story, you need to understand that this isn't a videogame, you are in real danger here, Morgan. It was not my idea to include you in this, and I don't want you getting hurt." Chuck said seriously.

"Look, Chuck. I appreciate you looking out for me. You've been watching my back since we were kids and I really appreciate that more than I can say. But I know the score; Beckman explained most of it to me, and really, I get it. I know people think I'm some big screw up, you included, but I'm not an idiot. Lazy and unmotivated, yes, but not an idiot. For the first time in my life, I have an opportunity to do something useful. I don't know exactly what that's going to consist of, but I'm not passing this up." Morgan was speaking with fire in his eyes and Chuck felt horrible for inadvertently insulting his best friend.

"Morgan…I've never thought of you as a screw up, that much I promise you. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. But if you're sure buddy, then I'm not going to hold you back. I made a similar decision a long time ago. This all started about two years ago when I got that Email from Bryce on my birthday…"

Chuck launched into the story of everything that had happened, including his decision to undergo full agent training. He faltered when he got to the story of his red test, but he powered through, explaining how Sarah and even Casey helped him get through it. When he finally finished, Morgan was in awe.

"Wow, Chuck. That is one hell of a story. So what do we do now? Bait and Switch? Sting operations? No, wait, I've got it! We use the air vents, _Die Hard_ style. Yippee ki yay, mother effer." Morgan said in his best Bruce Willis voice.

"Now, Morgan, we're going to find a way to lure out the terrorists on board and either arrest or kill them. But one way or another, we're going to take care of this thing." Chuck said.

Morgan walked over to the navigation table with Casey and Chuck pulled Bryce aside.

"What are you doing here, man? It's only been like three weeks, there's no way they've cleared you yet." Chuck said, sticking Bryce with an accusatory glare.

"Well, I wasn't going to leave you guys out here on your own, not for something like this. I'm sidelined for this mission, but not out of the game. I'm here for you, Chuck, and I also owe you an apology. All of you," Bryce said, speaking up with the last few words to grab everyone's attention.

"Last time I worked with you three, I was a real asshole, and for that I apologize. This job has changed me for the worst…I haven't been myself the last several years. I really don't have an excuse, but honestly, I am really sorry for being…well, for being an arrogant prick."

"Bryce, it's in the past. For what it's worth, I forgive you, and it is definitely behind us." Chuck said. Sarah echoed Chuck's sentiments, and Casey even reluctantly growled his forgiveness.

As they all settled down and began to work, Carina leaned over and gave Chuck a high five.

"What was that for?" Chuck asked.

"Oh you should know, Chuckles, that's for finally sealing the deal with Walker. I haven't seen my girl smile like that in...Actually, I don't think I've ever seen her smile this much."

"Carina!" Sarah hissed as Chuck's cheeks went bright red. She laughed heartily as they went back to gathering up their gear before Chuck outlined the plan he had come up with.

* * *

 **April 18, 2009**

 **On Board the** ** _Anthem of the Seas_** **Cruise Liner**

 **North Pacific Ocean**

 **Cruise Day 5: 910 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)**

 **1814 US Central Time**

That night they were in position; Sarah and Carina were on the top deck with Chuck and Casey, all four decked out in bathing suits and feeling completely naked without their weapons immediately accessible, even though Sarah and Carina were carrying them in their purses. They all had ear pieces in and they separated to cover the decks, Chuck and Sarah heading towards the bow while Carina and Casey proceeded aft.

"So, future Mrs. Bartowski, in case I haven't told you lately, you look absolutely breathtaking today." Chuck said as he kissed the top of her head.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Bartowski." She said with a smile. "See anything yet?"

"No flashes yet, and nothing looks too suspicious." Chuck said as Sarah pulled him into a hug, looking behind him and scanning for threats under the pretense of whispering into his ear.

"Casey, you guys have anything?" Sarah whispered into Chuck's ear piece."

"Affirmative, we have a probable contact. Larkin, you should be able to see him on the camera, he's at my twelve, bright green shirt and tan cargo shorts." Casey's gruff voice answered.

"Got him, Colonel," Bryce said. "Running facial recognition. Got a hit, name is Victor Ruiz, known member of the ELF. Running a search on his known associates and aliases and plugging them into the recognition program." Bryce stated.

"Mad dog, this is Cobra, come in Mad Dog." Chuck's brow furrowed in confusion until he realized the voice belonged to Morgan. "Mad Dog, do you read?"

"Morgan, these radios are encrypted, you don't need to use code names." Chuck said, holding in a laugh.

"Especially not a stupid one that moron number 1 got by accident." Casey chided.

"Easy, Casey. What do you want Morgan?" Chuck asked.

"You've got a bogey on your six, take evasive action!" Morgan shouted and Chuck rolled his eyes. Sarah spun them around and Chuck quickly found who Morgan was referring to as his eyes rolled into his head and he slipped into a flash. _Helicopters flying over a flooded New Orleans; protestors outside of a nuclear power plant, holding an artificially mutated stuffed animal; dossier and suspected operations for involvement with ELF; name: Unknown; Helicopters flying over a flooded New Orleans._ After five more flashes, Chuck opened his eyes and came back to himself as Sarah gripped him tightly to stop him from stumbling.

"Holy Intersect, Batman; I haven't flashed that much in a long time. Casey, I've got a visual on six of the terrorists at our location."

"Roger," Casey whispered. "I've got about ten possibles back here, we'll take some pictures and send them to you."

A few minutes later, Chuck's phone dinged. He thumbed open the texting app and began downloading the pictures Casey had sent. There were a dozen in all, selfies of Casey and Carina which captured their targets in the background. Chuck flashed on seven more people from the pictures they sent, and he reported those to Morgan and Bryce.

"Ok Chuck, I've got them marked on surveillance, I'll have Morgan start running their pictures through facial recognition, but if there's no name in the Intersect I'm not hopeful that they've figured out the names in the few weeks since you've downloaded it." Bryce said over their comms.

"I flagged them on the surveillance software so we'll be pinged every time one of them pops up on a camera. I also took the liberty of downloading all the photos off the passports and boarding passes for all passengers, so I have whatever names they are using on board which are pretty generic. Now that we know they're traveling as passengers and not planning on boarding us, I have the pictures pulled up if you'd rather go and look through those, Chuck." Morgan said.

Casey grunted over the ear piece, clearly surprised and impressed – and sounding thoroughly angry about it. "Alright, enough damn chatter. Let's figure out who these terrorists are and get this over with."

"What's the matter John, do you not like the speedo because there aren't any clovers on them?" Carina quipped.

"Shut it, red. Bartowski, we're switching partners next time."

They began moving back towards the rear deck while Casey and Carina bickered the whole time. Chuck and Sarah listened over the comms with smiles on their faces as they gently bumped into each other, smiling and kissing every so often. Their covers always came natural when they played a couple, but today especially they were glowing so much no one would possibly believe they were anything but a happy couple in love – and they very much were.

Chuck's phone dinged and he logged into their secure network to begin thumbing through the boarding photos that Morgan had sent him. After reaching the last photo, Chuck had flashed three more times, bringing the total number of terrorists up to sixteen.

"Alright, looks like there're sixteen onboard. Casey, Carina, any of them alone by you guys?"

"Negative, they're all moving in groups. Gnome, you have anybody on the cameras that's by themselves?" Casey asked.

"You know Colonel, words can hurt." Morgan said as a growl responded on the other end. "Alright, alright. One guy is by himself down by one of the restaurants, Chuck and Sarah are closest. Name is Rico…oh you have to be kidding me. He's traveling under the name Rico Suave."

Chuck snorted and Sarah elbowed him as they shifted their feet towards the restaurants on the boardwalk, radioing that they were on the way. Casey and Carina started heading their way as well, but they were at least ten minutes away due to the size of the ship. They turned the corner of the shops, walking among the other couples and families. They were so intent on their search, that they walked head first into a tall, dark-haired man. As Chuck hurried to help him up, his eyes widened as he realized they had knocked over Rico Suave himself.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry sir! Here, let me buy you a drink to make it up to you!" Chuck shouted jovially. Rico tried to brush him off, but Chuck was too quick for him. With hardly a harried movement, Chuck pulled him around and Sarah drew her tranq pistol, fired a dart into his side and immediately replaced it. The man slumped against Chuck's shoulder and he lowered his limp form to the floor, immediately switching gears.

"Adam! Adam, wake up! Someone help!" Chuck yelled theatrically. Within minutes they were joined by Casey and Carina, and shortly after that, a team from the ship's medical staff arrived, loading him on a stretcher as Chuck made up some story about their 'friend' Adam passing out. Once they made it in the medical bay, Sarah and Carina quickly distributed guns and badges as they walked up to the lead doctor.

"Sir, Federal Agents, this is an emergency. I need you all to leave the room immediately." Casey said, flashing his badge.

The doctor looked thoroughly unimpressed as he squared off with Casey. "A federal agent in International waters wearing a speedo…you sure you're right in the head there son? I need to assess my patient, now get out of my way before I drop you."

Sarah laid a hand on Casey's forearm as he opened his mouth to retort. "Doctor, we know exactly what is wrong with him, we're the ones who did it to him. If you don't leave now and let us do our jobs, a lot of people including yourself are going to die needlessly. Call your captain if you don't believe us, he knows what is going on."

The doctor considered Sarah for a moment before walking over to the wall and dialing the bridge. His eyes widened as his conversation went on, confirming their story. He reluctantly set the receiver down and turned back to them.

"Make this quick, I have work to do." He said gruffly as he stormed out of the bay.

Once everyone was out of the room, Casey held his hand out to Sarah who handed him a small syringe filled with the reversal agent for their tranqs.

"Time for some real fun on this stupid vacation." Casey said with a sinister smile.

Twenty-five minutes later, they all exited the room.

"Well that was awfully quick. I guess eco-terrorists are the pansies of the bad-guy world." Carina said whimsically.

"Guys we know the plan. They majority of the terrorists are going to be in the engine room to start the party in about twenty minutes. We're going to go down there and beat them to it. Matt, can you meet us down there with our clothes and gear? Bryce, Morgan, find us a good hiding spot." Chuck radioed as they began working their way down to the engine room.

* * *

 **April 18, 2009**

 **On Board the** ** _Anthem of the Seas_** **Cruise Liner**

 **North Pacific Ocean**

 **Cruise Day 6: 415 Nautical Miles North West of the Panama Bay (Southern opening of the Panama Canal)**

 **1814 US Central Time**

Matt had been waiting for them by the engine room when they arrived and he motioned them into a room a few doors down from the hatch. They followed him in and he tossed them each a bag, and they proceeded to get dressed and prepare for the coming fight. Matt preceded to hand them gas masks as he prepped his own, and Chuck looked at him in confusion.

"Trust me," he had said with a small smile.

They had journeyed into the engine room shortly after midnight and prepared a few booby traps as well as scouted out the best firing positions. Now much more prepared with their traps, scouting and wearing their tactical gear, Chuck sadly stuffed his second-favorite Comic-Con hat back into his bag before pulling on the gas mask and cinching it down. He completed the ensemble by pulling his headset down into its usual spot before putting on his helmet complete with night vision and thermal goggles.

"Comms Check," Chuck said as he keyed up the mic.

"Reading you five by five, Chuck. What does that even mean anyway?" Morgan asked.

"There's a scale that measures signal strength and readability, with rankings from one to five, best possible signal means you have a five in both categories, so five by five. Now cut the chatter and keep the line clear." Casey barked over the line.

"Yes sir…grumpy Gus."

"What was that, gnome?" Casey quipped.

"Um, I said, yes, sir, uh, jumpy pus, I just found a pimple, dang it. Is that a new gun, Casey? I like it."

Chuck laughed under his breath as Casey rolled his eyes and rechecked his weapons.

"Show time, guys, I've got an enemy team heading down the stairs towards the engine room." Bryce said. "I can't twelve in all."

The five of them stacked up on the wall next to the door, with Casey at the front. He pulled out a fiber optic camera and fed it under the door, grateful that they were simply in a side closet that didn't have a watertight door like the engine room. Casey wirelessly linked everyone's phones to the camera so they could see the display as well. They watched as ten men and two women piled down the stairs with assault rifles cradled in their arms.

"Bryce, is anyone in the engine room right now?" Chuck asked.

"Negative, we had the captain clear it out, all empty…and perfect for a trap."

"Which I took the liberty of springing," Matt said with a grin.

They watched on the screen as the team entered the engine room, sealing the hatch behind them. Bryce switched their feed from his position in their suite, changing the screens to that of the engine room's cameras. The ELF team was slowly moving through the room, sweeping their rifles around in confusion at the empty room. As they reached the center of the cavernous room, Bryce triggered their trap.

Smoke grenades went off all around the room, filling it quickly with thick white smoke. A second round of hissing broke out as the yellow cloud of tear gas filled the room, followed by the chocking and coughing of the terrorists.

"Wow. When you spring a trap you don't mess around." Carina said, clearly impressed.

They popped open the door and poured out of the small room, opening up the engine room hatch as they dropped their goggles into place, activating the thermal vision setting. They split up as they entered Matt and Casey heading left, Carina, Sarah and Chuck heading right. They moved farther into the room, sweeping their rifles in all directions as they came upon five of the terrorists on all fours, coughing and trying to clear their throats. They quickly subdued them with plastic zip-cuffs and activated their radios.

"Five tangos down," Sarah said into her mic.

"Roger, five down. We have three down here, four more to go. Keep it tight." Casey said, in full-blown Colonel Mode.

They continued on down the aisle between the sophisticated machinery in the engine room. Finding no more targets, they had to check their fire as they ran head-on into Casey and Matt.

"What the hell, where're the rest of them?" Carina asked.

"I'm blind, guys, I don't have thermal on these things." Bryce said.

"Chuck, before we triggered the grenades there was a group by the fire control panel on the port side. They could be trying to clear the space." Morgan called.

"Good call, buddy!" Chuck answered as he snapped his rifle around. They moved around to the panel as Morgan guided them over the radio but still didn't see any targets. Suddenly a siren began blaring as fans kicked in, venting the engine room quickly. Chuck quickly flipped the thermal goggles up but was not quick enough as he felt what could only be a freight train collide with him from his left, knocking him to the ground. Chuck struggled to gain his bearings as a fist impacted his face, dazing him. His training kicked in as his hand automatically reached for his pistol, but the move proved futile as two red holes appeared in his attacker's chest.

"Chuck, are you ok?" Sarah called.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Good shooting, baby." Chuck replied.

He got to his feet quickly as the other terrorist was quickly dealt with by Casey. He walked over to Sarah and squeezed her hand tightly before returning his hand to his weapon, maintaining some sense of professionalism.

"Larkin, engine room is secure." Casey said on the radio.

"Good job, but we have other problems. The other four guys have taken the bridge, they're holding it hostage." Bryce answered. As if to underline his point, the PA suddenly kicked on for the entire ship.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Normally the captain would be addressing you, but he is currently…indisposed, shall we say. Have no fear; you are currently in very capable hands, the hands of the children of Mother Earth. Today we will be sailing for the beautiful Panama Canal and proceeding to make it a little more in tune with nature. Please have no fear, You won't notice much difference in your originally scheduled cruise." The PA clicked off and Team Bartowski eyed each other in the engine room.

"Well, that was probably the politest death threat I've ever received." Casey quipped.

"Enough, Casey. Bryce, what's the bridge situation look like?" Sarah asked.

"Not good, Sarah," Bryce answered. "Four man team with assault rifles, side arms, grenades, C-4…the whole nine yards. They have the crew tied up and braced against the door so explosive entry is out. They have a few hidden propane tanks that they brought in and they're periodically filling the room. They have a gas detector and it looks like they're keeping it right in the explosive range so flashbangs would be a poor choice. Start heading that way, I'm working on finding you an alternative entry."

"Copy that, Larkin. We're Oscar Mike." Casey barked.

The team checked their weapons and then fell into a double-line on either side of the hallway with plenty of room between them on the off chance someone chucked a well-placed grenade. They proceeded slowly, checking each corner carefully; while they trust Bryce and even Morgan to watch their backs on the cameras, they didn't take anything for granted. After all, you don't last very long in the spy profession by being careless.

As they reached the top deck, they ran into some trouble. A fairly large group of tourists were all gathered outside the door to the bridge, knocking persistently and demanding answers. As they slowed to a stop, one of the tourists spotted them and let out a long blood-curdling scream – right next to Chuck's ear.

"Ah!" Chuck exclaimed. The group all turned in their direction and began jostling each other, panicked at the sight of the guns and military equipment. As Chuck muttered his thanks to the makers of his ear-muffs, Sarah was more productive with the situation. Putting two fingers in her mouth she let loose a long, high-pitched whistle.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Sarah shouted over the cacophony. "My name is Lt. Commander Angela Schwartz with the United States Navy. As you heard, there is a situation on board which we are trying to take care of it. Please return to your cabins, lock the doors, and wait there for further instructions."

"Why should we listen to you, how do we know you're legit?" A tall, sweaty man in the back of the crowd asked.

"What, the guns aren't enough?" Carina quickly responded as she pointed hers vaguely in his direction. The man didn't answer, and instead just looked angrily at her for a few seconds before slowly heading off down the hallway. The crowd quickly followed suit and the hallway was quickly empty.

"Bryce, we could really use some crowd control." Carina said.

"Already working on it, my sweet seductress." Morgan replied.

"Knock it off, Martin." Carina quickly snapped.

"Standby…and we own audio." Morgan said, slightly stung.

"Attention passengers, this is Captain Bryce Anderson with the United Stated Navy. Please report to your cabins immediately and lock the doors while we deal with the situation on board. If you follow these directions, we will have the situation resolved quickly and efficiently." The PA clicked off again as the team radioed their thanks to Bryce and Morgan.

"Any luck on that second entry Bryce?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah, I think so. There's an emergency egress hatch going from the bridge crew escape boat into the bridge. It comes out into a cabinet and it doesn't look like they've secured it or placed any booby-traps. They're still using the propane though, so tranqs and hand-to-hand only." Bryce said.

The team headed around the bridge and down a different hallway, following the directions from Bryce and Morgan. Soon they were in a 'crew-only' hallway with what looked like crew quarters on either side. They quickly progressed down the hall to a hatch which they opened, finding themselves in the warm, ocean air. On their right was a large orange escape boat and on their left was a small circular hatch, much smaller than any of the ones they had been through yet.

Chuck met Casey's eyes who nodded before walking over to the hatch and grabbing the handle. Casey locked eyes with Chuck again and then counted down from three as Chuck inched the muzzle of this rifle through the crack, snapping his flashlight on and illuminating the passage.

"Clear!" Chuck whispered over his mic.

They inched up the passage, dropping their rifles and pulling tranq guns for those who had them – in other words Chuck. They reached the end and Chuck keyed up his mic.

"Alright, I'm going to pop the hatch and tranq as many as I can. Bryce, can you bring up the cameras?"

His wrist-mounted phone lit up as the camera feed came active, and he memorized their locations.

"Bryce, which cabinet does this open up into?" Chuck asked. Silently, Bryce highlighted the cabinet which corresponded to their location – port side, right next to the captain's console. Two targets were located directly in front of the door, making his life easy. The other two were slightly more problematic, on the far side of the room holding one of the bridge crew at knife point, face first in the console. It looked like they were questioning him, but Chuck couldn't imagine what for.

Chuck held up three fingers, silently counting down. When his last finger was in the air, he took a deep breath and popped the seal, slowly opening the hatch. Darkness was on the other side except for the thin crack between the cabinet doors that concealed the door. Once he had his footing under him, he quickly pushed through the doors. As he had planned, he ended up between the two guards standing on either side of the cabinet. He quickly fired a tranq into each of their calves and then rolled to the left as the rest of the team piled out behind him.

They raced across the bridge to take on the two remaining terrorists. Carina reached the group first, and quickly wrapped her arms around the member of the crew that was being held hostage, pulling him to the ground with her. Casey and Sarah were close behind her. Casey quickly engaged the first terrorist he came to, throwing a hard right hook into the man's face. The man staggered back a few steps before regaining his footing. He retaliated with a spinning heel kick but Casey was able to block it. Catching his attacker's leg in the crook of his elbow, Casey shifted his hands to the man's foot, twisting with all his might and forcing the man's body to follow suit. The man, now facing away from Casey, was standing right above Carina who was all too happy to contribute with a swift straight kick to the face, knocking the man unconscious.

Sarah was not fairing quite as well in her fight. She loosed a barrage of kicks and punches that would have left most men slumped over on the floor but the man she was fighting was fast, and tough. For every kick she delivered, the terrorist easily jumped and deflected it, and the more they fought the better he got at anticipating her moves. Soon, he began delivering counter attacks, and Sarah was quickly winded – and angry.

Now finished securing his tranqed terrorists, Chuck was getting to his feet. As he looked over at the fight between Sarah and the last terrorist and his breath caught in his throat. Sarah had just taken a hard kick to the sternum and she stumbled backward, tripping over the man's fallen comrade and falling to the floor. The man stood over her, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He pulled out a knife and held it high above his head, preparing to drive it down into Sarah's dazed body. Chuck let out a panicked yell as he snapped his tranq gun up, locking onto his fiancé's attacker. His yell turned out to be strategically beneficial, as it distracted the man long enough for Chuck to unload the entire magazine of tranqs into him. Chuck rushed to Sarah's side as she groggily pushed herself up from the ground.

"Are you okay, Sarah?" Chuck asked, offering her hand to pull her up.

"I'm fine. Bastard was just bigger." Sarah said angrily as she kicked the man in his side.

"Bryce, we're all secure here, any other surprises?" Carina asked.

"Negative, looks like everything is taken care of now. Although someone may want to stop the boat before we crash into the canal."

They all looked up in unison and saw the rapidly approaching shore line before looking back down at the bridge staff who were all very much unconscious.

"When the hell did that happen?" Sarah asked angrily.

"Well, most of them were already knocked out before you guys got up there." Morgan said. "And the last guy…well, Carina held on a little too tight when she took him out of the line of fire."

They all turned around and looked at Carina who shrugged.

"How was I supposed to know he wouldn't tuck his head when he went down? He may have hit it on the floor…sorry." She said unconcernedly.

"Alright, let's focus on the problem here. Any ideas?" Casey asked.

Chuck jumped up and looked at the controls as he began to flash. _A U.S. Navy Arleigh-Burke Class Destroyer, the_ USS Halsey; _course calculations and navigation charts; a U.S. Navy Arleigh-Burke Class Destoryer, the_ USS Halsey. Chuck shuddered out of the flash and he shook his head, his vision swimming with the contents of his last flash.

"Out of the way," Chuck said urgently. He stepped up to the captain's panel, sitting in the raised chair as he pointed to different consoles.

"Sarah, grab the helmsman's chair. Casey, get on the lookout station." Chuck ordered.

They looked at him curiously, but followed his orders without question.

"Ok, Casey let me know how close we are to shore, or if there's anything else in our way. Sarah, I'm going to transfer the engines to your station. This ship has pod-style propulsion systems; there's a dial above the speed selector, rotate it so it's facing forward and then put the engines to full power. I'm going to tap on the bow thrusters."

Casey and Sarah both acknowledged his orders, following their tasks.

"Engines are rotated and at full thrust." Sarah called out. The massive ship immediately began to shudder at the sudden change, but they appeared to be minutely slowing down.

"Shore is 1800 meters out." Casey reported.

"Ok, we've got a rough stopping distance of 1600 meters at this speed so we'll need every ounce of power. Casey, any obstacles?" Chuck asked.

"Not yet, but there are some private vessels in the harbor. I'll let you know if any get close."

Chuck placed his hands over the controls for the bow thrusters. The _Anthem of the Seas_ technically had six engines. Sarah was controlling the two main engines, two massive rotating pods that each had an independently controlled engine. The pods could be rotated 360 degrees, allowing the ship unprecedented maneuverability for a vessel of its size. In addition to these two powerful engines, there were four individual engines in the bow of the ship that had a moveable gate which would force the thrust to either the port or the starboard side, allowing the bow of the ship to be spun around quickly, or if used in conjunction with the main engines, to move the ship sideways for docking. In addition to these features, if the gates were lifted completely, the thrust would be forced out both sides, causing the ship to slow.

Chuck thumbed the control to lift the gates and then briefly tapped the thruster. They all lurched forward as the powerful engines kicked in. Unfortunately they could only be used in moderation or else the motors would get burned out and they would lose that option entirely.

"900 meters Chuck." Casey called.

"We've slowed to fifteen knots," Sarah shouted.

"Bartowski! Speedboat on your port side!" Casey yelled suddenly.

Chuck quickly dropped the gates on the bow thrusters and activated them to the port side, simultaneously pushing the bow towards starboard and forcing the tiny boat away from them.

"Sarah, move the engines to the one-three-five degrees!" Chuck yelled.

Sarah quickly responded and the stern slowly followed the bow.

"All clear, Bartowski, nice work. Shore is 600 meters out."

"Sarah, what's our speed now?" Chuck asked.

"Nine knots," She said.

"Okay, move engines back to ninety degrees." Chuck said. He opened the gate to the thrusters again and began tapping them in short, five second bursts, giving ten seconds in between to allow them to cool down.

"Great work, Bartowski, still 400 meters out." Casey said.

"Still at four knots, Chuck, one more hit on the thrusters should do it." Sarah stated calmly.

Chuck tapped on the thrusters twice more to be safe.

"Six knots, moving in reverse, we're clear!" Sarah shouted.

They all jumped from the chairs and Sarah leapt into Chuck's arms, kissing him soundly on the lips.

"Great job, sweetie! That was amazing!" She yelled when they broke apart.

"Yeah, good work but we're not out of this yet. We need to get clear and then get the crew awake again." Casey said.

"Oh don't be such a spoil-sport, Colonel." Chuck said as he sat back in the captain's chair. Bryce began radioing updates on the vessels in the bay behind them until they get into relatively open water and dropped anchor. He then made an announcement on the PA stating that the situation was over, and the ship staff would hold a conference in two hours to explain the situation. Casey stepped off the bridge to report in to Beckman as Carina and Matt began gently coaxing the bridge crew to wake up.

"Hey Sarah?" Chuck asked.

"What's up, Chuck?" She asked, turning to face him.

"Our next vacation…let's just go to Disneyland."

Sarah laughed as she gripped his hand, looking out the bridge windows as the command staff groggily got to their feet.

* * *

 **May 1, 2009**

 **Casa de Woodcomb**

 **1814 US Central Time**

"So, tell me all about it!" Ellie exclaimed as she brought a tray with four coffee cups over to Devon, Sarah and Chuck.

"Well, the cruise was pretty amazing, aside from the terrorist thing but you probably know more than we do about that from the news coverage." Sarah said.

"That must have been terrifying! How did you deal with that?" Ellie asked.

"Oh it wasn't so bad. We didn't notice much, they just told us to stay in our rooms over the PA, so we just waited it out while the Navy handled it. Lucky they were nearby." Chuck said.

"Yeah, I wasn't too afraid, not with my big, bad Chuck there to protect me." Sarah said with a smirk as she caught Chuck's eye and they both had to look away quickly to stop from laughing.

"Awesome, bro." Devon said as he hit Chuck with a fist bump, clearly misinterpreting the look they shared.

"So anyway, the second week of the cruise was beautiful but fairly uneventful. We did get to see some amazing sites in the Caribbean though, and France was absolutely breathtaking. And after a long train ride through the French countryside we finally made it to Paris. Finally got to see the Eiffel Tower, which was even more amazing than I expected it to be, though I think Sarah is partially to blame for that." Chuck said happily as he squeezed her closer to him.

"So what's this big news you guys said you have for us, I've been trying to figure it out all week." Ellie asked, unable to hold it in any longer.

"Well," Sarah began conspiratorially as she glanced at Chuck. "We're getting married!" Sarah exclaimed as she let out a very un-Sarah-like squeal and giggle. Ellie echoed her loudly as she demanded to see the ring and hear the story. After regaling them with the tale and showing the pictures and video, Ellie seemed satisfied with Chuck's work.

"Wow, that's amazing guys. Seriously, congratulations and nicely done little brother! That really sounds like one heck of a trip." Ellie said with a brilliant smile.

"Yes, it really was but ours was just a vacation, tell us about the honeymoon!" Sarah said.

"Oh it was awesome!" Devon said. "Saint-Tropez is probably the most beautiful place I've ever been. And the pastries there! My God, the French really know how to do breakfast."

As Devon and Ellie regaled them with tales from their trip, the Mexican Hat Dance began blaring from his phone, and the black and white Nerd-Herd logo he used for his secure line lit up on the face.

"Ah, I'll be right back, that's work. Sorry guys," Chuck said as he got to his feet. He quickly stepped outside and thumbed the answer icon.

"This is Carmichael," Chuck said, using his codename as a precaution.

"Chuck, it's me, Sherman." The voice on the other end was frantic and masked by static.

"Matt, what's going on? Do you need help?" Chuck asked immediately.

"No, I don't need help, just don't have long. The Ring has some plans in motions, I've gotten as much Intel as I could, but none of it is complete. I need to get this to you guys as soon as possible, can we meet?"

"Yeah, buddy, you got it. Um…how big is your TV?" Chuck asked.

"What? What the hell are you talking about, Chuck?"

"Just trust me. Order a new TV from the Buymore, request me for an Install. Do you sweep your house for bugs?"

"Every day, but I don't have any equipment for it, I can only rely on more traditional methods."

"Okay, place the order and I'll bring you some other goodies. We'll figure things out from there, alright?" Chuck asked.

"Fine, that'll work. Thanks Chuck." Sherman said.

"You got it, buddy. Look, keep this number pulled up in your texts. If you get into trouble text me the word Pineapple and I'll send the Cavalry, got it?" Chuck asked.

"Yeah, will do. See you tomorrow."

"Alright, stay safe." Chuck said, ending the call. He headed back inside, muttering apologies as he told his family the Buymore called asking him to do an install tomorrow. He shared a meaningful look with Sarah as he said it, however, and he could tell she immediately understood the discreet meaning. After a lengthy visit with Devon and Ellie, they bade them goodnight and headed back over to their apartment.

"So who was on the phone?" Sarah asked as they pulled back the covers to their bed.

"It was Matt. He's got some Intel for us, I'm going to go do an install in the morning and get whatever he has plus leave him some scanning equipment for bugs. We should talk to Beckman about security for him too. I gave him a panic word to text me, but we need something else too. Panic button in a watch would be good, and we need to keep his family in mind too. How do you do it, Sarah? There is so much that goes into having an asset, how the heck do you deal with all of it?" Chuck asked.

"Me? I do what I've always done and don't think of the personal consequences for them, but only of the greater good. But now, and more importantly for you…I think that's something we're going to need to figure out together. I know you well enough to know that my way of dealing with things won't work for you and honestly thanks to you rubbing off on me, it won't work for me either anymore." Sarah said as she snuggled up close to him.

"So in other words we're going to wing it and hope for the best?"

"Pretty much, Chuck…pretty much."

Neither of them got much sleep that night as they considered their complicated situation but gratefully took comfort in each other's arms.


	14. Chapter 14 Chuck vs the Party

**A/N** : So, I've been gone forever and I thoroughly apologize for that. In my defense (aka, I'm making an excuse), there is a six month gap between the end of the last chapter (I.E. the end(ish) of season 2 and the beginning of this one, the start of season 3. Lame excuse, but hey, it sort of works! Nothing ground breaking in this chapter, but I'd rather just post it and try to end my slump, as I a finally approaching the point of this story that I have been envisioning from day one. Really excited to finish, and to be back and again, I am very sorry for being gone so long!

Without further ado, enjoy :)

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

 **Chuck vs. the Party**

 **January 6, 2010**

 **Prague, Czech Republic**

 **2307 Central European Time**

Chuck wrinkled his nose at the smell of his own sweat and blood. He blinked and tried to see anything that he could through the black hood that currently shrouded his vision and apparently had the lovely added benefit of magnifying his stench. Chuck thought about Sarah and how much he wished they could just spend some time together in a beautiful European city without getting kidnapped by the local mob, but that did not appear to be their luck. He thought back to their vacation in France six months ago, how even that vacation was ruined by their knack for attracting bad guys.

His thoughts were interrupted as he was forced roughly into a chair and his hood was quickly torn off of his head. He quickly took stock of his surroundings, some type of polygonal-shaped stone room with a large table in the middle. Beside him stood a single goon with a scraggly beard that Chuck aptly named 'Beard' in his head. Across the table stood two more goons, neither of which seemed particularly muscled so he prepared himself for a defense against weapons rather than fists. Chuck quickly labeled them as 'Case' and 'Ponytail', and began to form his plan on how to get the case away from its namesake. Ponytail looked to be the most professional of all the hired help, despite his poor choice in hair style, so Chuck focused his attention on him.

With the unknowns in the room located and tagged in his mind, Chuck shifted his attention to his Russian contact, Yuri, as the man whistled at him.

"Agent Carmichael," Yuri said with a leer.

"Call me Charles," Chuck said as Yuri chuckled. "You have something that belongs to me, Yuri."

" _Filthy stinking commies. Can't quit picking fights with us and can't chose any names for their kids besides Yuri or Boris_." Casey said in Chuck's ear.

"The case, Yuri. I would like for you to give it to me…please."

"Ha, you show up with no gun and your pleases and what? I quiver in fear?" Yuri said as he stood and walked around the table to him.

" _We have a lock on the case, Chuck, that's the one we're after._ " Sarah said over the comms.

Chuck leaned forward and let out a slow breath, resigning himself to the hard way.

"Hand over the case…or you really won't enjoy the alternative."

"Alternative? What alternative, we shoot you, leave you for dead and go for some Pierogi?" Yuri asked as he spun and pulled a gun on him.

Chuck slowly looked up at him and barely resisted rolling his eyes.

"No, I was thinking something more like this." Chuck stood quickly and used his speed advantage to force Yuri's pistol up into the light above the table. Yuri grunted in pain and Chuck easily stripped his gun away and aimed it at his captors.

"Everyone calm down before this room gets unnecessarily messy!" Chuck shouted. "Now Yuri, hand me that case and after that it's Pierogi time." Chuck said quickly.

"No," Yuri said. "If you want that case, you'll have to shoot me."

Chuck smirked. "Have it your way." He raised the gun and fired a single shot into the light, showering the room in sparks. As he expected, ponytail reacted first so Chuck quickly charged in his direction. He flipped the gun in his hands, holding it by the barrel as Ponytail launched a low kick at his abdomen. Chuck used the handle of the pistol to catch Ponytail's shin and quickly followed the painful block with an elbow to the man's face, effectively putting him out of the fight for the time it would take Chuck to finish up.

Case and Beard attacked at the same time, and Chuck didn't waste a second. Case launched a kick at Chuck's face which he quickly ducked, kicking his former chair in Beard's direction, buying him enough time to block Case's incoming right hook and disable him with two quick jabs to the face. Beard had recovered from the chair incident and came back up with his gun leveled at Chuck's nose. Chuck quickly fired off a roundhouse, knocking the gun from his hand but before he could finish the goon off, Yuri knocked Chuck's breath from his lungs with a dead-on punch to the face, followed by a kick to the abdomen by Beard. Chuck reeled backwards into an alcove and quickly caught his breath. He spotted a sturdy pipe running across the opening of the alcove and he jumped up, grabbing hold. Using his forward momentum, one of his feet connected with both Yuri and Beard's faces, knocking them out cold.

"Sleepy time for the bad guys," Chuck informed his team.

" _Good work, Chuck. Now grab the case and get the hell out of there._ " Casey shouted.

Chuck wasted no time, grabbing the case and sprinting down the stairs that he found behind the door. He ran down to the street and looked around, unsure of which way to go.

"Sarah, where's my exit?" He said into his watch.

" _They're closing in on you Chuck, they had reinforcements. Get to a roof, I'm on my way with your exfil._ "

Chuck turned and ran, taking the first staircase he saw. He made it to an upper floor of an apartment complex and he quickly jumped, grabbing a hold of the roof and hauling himself up.

"Direction Sarah?" Chuck asked.

" _She's flying south towards you Bartowski. Start running north._ "

"Copy that, Casey." Chuck replied to his watch as he began running. He quickly saw his next hurtle as he began to run out of roof. Ahead to his left he noticed an electrical pole with wires running across the street. His eyes rolled into his head as angles and force trajectories ran through his head. His eyes rolled back, and thankfully he didn't even stumble thanks to his training. He stripped off his jacket as he ran, looping one sleeve through the handle of the case and then wrapping one sleeve around his left hand. When he reached the cable, he threw his jacket over and caught it, wrapping the other sleeve around his right hand. He didn't have time to think as he leapt from the building and let gravity do the rest. Almost immediately gunfire erupted below him but miraculously nothing hit him. He reached the end of the cable and hit the ground running, throwing his jacket over his shoulder and grabbing a hold of the case once more. He ran blindly north and could just make out the sound of helicopter blades in the distance – followed by the sounds of more gunshots.

"Sarah, I don't mean to rush you but I could really use that exit, rapidly!"

" _Copy that, Chuck. I have you on satellite…do you trust me?_ " She asked, voice full of uncertainty.

"What? Of course, Sarah, what kind of question is that?"

" _Ok. Keep running straight. Do not deviate and no matter what, do not slow down_." Sarah whispered.

He did as he was told and quickly saw why Sarah was whispering. Up ahead the rooftops ended and Chuck could see nothing but open ocean ahead.

"Sarah?" Chuck frantically asked.

" _Trust me Chuck!_ " Sarah yelled.

"Always," Chuck ran even faster, his panic beginning to set in as the final rooftop drew closer and closer and the gunfire continued behind him, metallic pings popping around him as their accuracy improved.

" _Ok, Chuck, get ready. Keep running…and…JUMP!_ "

Chuck didn't hesitate but instead put every ounce of trust he had in the woman he loved and he jumped as high and as far as he could. Chuck had a brief feeling of weightlessness as he soared through the open air before a large military helicopter – CH-46 to be exact – loomed out of the darkness in front of him. The rear loading ramp was dropped down and he spotted a familiar flowing mane of blonde hair like a beacon in the night. He realized he was going to come up short just as Sarah began to stretch her hand out to him. Chuck extended his own hand and caught her – or more accurately, she caught him. She audibly gasped as his weight pulled her down but she had a firm grip on the handle inside the aircraft and Chuck's momentum was suddenly and roughly halted. The helicopter's crew chief rushed forward and helped her pull him up.

Once inside the aircraft, Chuck collapsed against Sarah in a heap. She quickly enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug that would make his sister proud as he attempted to catch his breath. Before he could say anything, however, Sarah began repeatedly punching him in the arm.

"Don't. You. Ever. Do. That. Again. Chuck. Bartowski!" Sarah yelled, punctuating each word with another punch.

"Ow! Sarah, what the hell?" Chuck yelled.

"Don't you ever jump off a roof like that again!" She shot back, but thankfully withheld the punches.

"Sarah, are you serious? You told me to jump!"

"That doesn't mean you listen! If I told you to jump of a bridge, would you do it?"

"Yes! Yes I would, just like I did this time because I trust you!" Chuck answered quickly.

"Trust me all you want Chuck, it doesn't mean you have to listen to me!" She said hotly as she stood up.

"Sarah, that makes zero sense." He pointed out.

"I'm a woman, I don't have to make sense, but I'm still right." She declared, helping him to his feet.

"Well, I can't argue with that." He grumbled, rubbing his aching body.

" _Smart man, Bartowski. Never argue with a woman, you'll have more luck bringing a knife to a gun fight. Also, glad you made it_."

"Thanks, Casey. See you back at Castle." Chuck answered, killing the comms.

"If you make it that far," Sarah huffed under her breath as she threw herself into one of the bulkhead-mounted seats.

He caught the eye of the dumbfounded crew chief who silently pleaded for Chuck to explain. Chuck simply shrugged and mouthed women before quietly sitting next to his fiancé who immediately laid her head on his shoulder and fell promptly asleep.

Chuck closed his eyes as well as he reflected on the last few months. They had been going non-stop, completing mission after mission as they received Intel from Matt to try and bring down the Ring. That task was, unfortunately, much easier said than done. No matter how many Ring cells they took down, it seemed they never put a dent in the Ring's overall operations. Worse than that was even the non-ring related missions almost immediately became Ring related. Anything delicate or important enough to require the services of Team Bartowski was also important enough to catch the Ring's eye and they were never far behind. In fact, more often than not as of late they were actually ahead of Team Bartowski.

Matt had been absolutely invaluable. In addition to the already high danger he was in just by informing on the Ring, he had been slowly developing a network of agents on the inside. People he trusted who, like him, thought they had been working for the good guys all along. That was where the good news ended, however. Much to the entire team's frustration, the Ring was very smart. They had split their operations up into cells, with no cell having any knowledge of the others. Using this method, they were able to maintain complete operational security, and none of their raids on Ring cells ever resulted in the discovery of beneficial Intel.

Beckman had been hinting lately about a Ring expert that was supposed to be joining the fight, but until then Team Bartowski was on their own. This particular mission had been handed to them by Matt, who stumbled into a Ring Op that his cell was running with a different cell. This was the first Op in months where two Ring Cells would be interacting with each other, and they had been determined to finally get a leg up on the Ring. The case held documents destined for a courier exchange that would take place in none other than Burbank, California. Naturally, the fact that the exchange was being made in their home town put them on high alert. Their plan was to retrieve the case, steal the documents and replace them with false Intel that would hopefully travel throughout different Ring Cells, the implanted tracker and false information hopefully leading to the take-down of more Ring Cells. So far, the mission was going according to plan, and Chuck allowed himself a mental self-five to celebrate. Sarah stirred on his shoulder and he began stroking her hair, lulling her back to sleep as he himself closed his eyes and drifted off as well.

* * *

 **January 8, 2010**

 **Castle**

 **2142 Pacific Time**

"Team, excellent work in Prague, as always. Please pass on my compliments to the asset." Beckman said over the video screen. Chuck was still getting used to hearing someone else referred to as 'the asset' but they had long ago decided to never use Matt's name anywhere that could be intercepted.

"The 'exchange' will happen tonight," Beckman continued, utilizing air quotes at the word exchange. "Unfortunately, the Intel we gained from the Prague mission revealed that this wasn't an exchange at all, but an assassination attempt. The Ring believes that the target, Santiago Gilles, is the mole that we've had inside. We are unsure of the appearance or methods of the assassin; he is one of the Ring's best. His name, is Javier Cruz."

Chuck's eyes immediately began to roll as multiple pictures of Javier Cruz's handy work scrolled through his brain. He shuddered out of the flash and was met with the expectant glances of his team.

"Sorry guys, not very much in there at all," Chuck said, pointing at his head. "Just a few images of his past murders."

"That's what I was afraid of, we've never been able to find much on this man. That leads me to your newest mission. Tomorrow night at 1900 is the scheduled time for the exchange, which will take place at El Bucho in Burbank. You will infiltrate the restaurant however you see fit, and observe the target. You are to prevent any threat to his life, and take him into custody before he leaves. Cruz is expendable, but take him alive if possible. Unless there are any questions, go get some rest. Goodnight, Team."

The general's screen went to black and the Team stood, gathering their things as they headed up the stairs and through the freezer of the Orange Orange. They said goodnight to Casey and climbed into Sarah's Porsche before beginning the journey home, discussing the best cover roles for the mission tomorrow night. When they arrived home, they entered the empty house and walked into the kitchen to prepare a quick snack before bed.

"When does Morgan get back?" Sarah asked.

"Should be the end of next week, I think." Chuck answered, scratching his chin thoughtfully as he tried to remember. Morgan had been at the Farm for the last several months, undergoing training as a field agent. Chuck had absolutely no intention of putting his best friend in the field, but if Beckman continued to insist on including him on missions, then he would be damned if he let Morgan tag along without any means to protect himself.

"He'll be alright Chuck; we will all look out for him just like we did for you." Sarah said, sensing his nervousness.

"Thanks, honey." Chuck said, kissing her on the cheek before she grabbed his hand and led him to the bedroom.

* * *

The next morning was a rapid blur as Chuck, Sarah and Casey reported to Castle before the sun was up, working on getting their cover identities established. Casey was pleased to find out he would be making a departure from his semi-traditional role of bartender. That is, until he found out Sarah decided to do this by putting his newly discovered talents as a choir-boy to use.

"Walker, I was in a church choir, not a band. This is a horrible idea; it's going to blow our covers."

"Relax, Casey. You're just one of the singers, not the lead or anything. We're going to cover the back of the restaurant while you watch from the front. It's hardly the most complicated cover you've ever done."

Sarah's words did little to quell the Colonel's irritation as he grumbled for the entire ride over to the club for their initial recon. He finally stopped when they arrived, once there was finally work to be done.

"We're going to need at least four additional teams, one each for Santiago Gilles and his contact, one for Cruz and a back-up would be nice." Chuck said.

"Agreed," Casey Said. "I have a buddy in the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group, the section that oversees the HRT. I'll give him a call and see if we can borrow one of their tactical teams from the LA office. Wouldn't hurt to have a sniper on that balcony up there either."

"I'll talk to the owner and have him close off the upper level for the night." Sarah said as she walked off towards the office.

Chuck continued to walk around the club, observing the angles of the club's CCTV system and planting additional cameras where he deemed necessary. Finally satisfied, he met back up with Sarah and Casey, who had both succeeded in their tasks.

"FBI will be sending a single ten-man team, so we'll have a four-man back up. They're being briefed as we speak so we can go report in to Beckman." Casey said.

The three of them traveled to Castle and after reporting in they gathered their equipment then ran home to change. Chuck changed into one of his favorite suits and was in the living room preparing his and Sarah's weapons when she finally joined him, and as usual Chuck's breath hitched.

He walked over to her as she looked him up and down, looking absolutely beautiful in a tight violet dress with a single frilly shoulder. Her hands moved automatically to his tie as they always did, carefully adjusting it. Finally satisfied, she kissed him briefly and held him close.

"Ready to go to work, Mr. Carmichael?"

"Ready when you are, Mrs. Carmichael…or close enough to Mrs., anyway." Sarah laughed lightly as they walked from the apartment, hand-in-hand, to Sarah's Porsche. Casey would be riding separately with the band.

They got to the club and so nothing of suspicion outside. Getting settled, they ordered some food and prepared to play their part and enjoy each other's company while they waited.

"This place is nice. Reminds me of a fancier version of our first date." Chuck said.

"Our first-first date, yeah." Sarah replied with a mischievous smirk.

Chuck smiled with her and linked their hands as he looked to the entrance and saw Gilles enter the club.

"Tango Bravo just entered. Eagle-eye, confirm?" Chuck said into his radio as he looked lovingly into Sarah's eyes.

"Eagle-eye confirms, Tango Bravo eyes on. Proceeding to table…" there was a short pause and Chuck assumed the sniper/observation team was double checking the seating chart. "Table 37. All teams stand-by."

They waited as Casey and the band entered, standing to clap with everyone else as they took their places. The band immediately struck up a tune, and couples flooded the dance floor, including Chuck and Sarah.

Thirty minutes later, they still had not seen any other target enter the club, and Gilles was still sitting alone at his booth.

"Casey, are you seeing anything on your side?"

There was a pause while they waited for a pause in the signing so Casey could answer.

"Negative." Was the single answer.

"Understood. Eagle-eye, we're going to move to the other side of the dance floor, see if we find anything." Sarah said.

"Understood; tracking."

They began dancing around the other couples, moving around the bar to Casey's side of the club. After several rotations of the dance floor, they still hadn't seen anything. They paused their dancing to clap as the band finished a song. One of the band members announced that the next song would be a guitar feature, and the guitarist moved to center stage. As he raised a hand in thanks to the applause, Chuck saw a scar on his hand and that was when he slipped into the flash. He came out of it to see Sarah looking at him intensely.

"The guitarist, he's Target Alpha." Chuck said.

"Eagle-eye copies, guitarist is Target Alpha. Team one and Team two move into position near the stage and prepare to initiate take down." Eagle-eye said.

"Belay that," Sarah whispered. "Move into position but do nothing until we have an actual threat. Let's give it a little longer and see if Target Charlie shows. Teams three and four move into position near Target Bravo but standby for my mark."

They continued to dance until the song ended, with no new developments. The band announced they were taking a break and the DJ took over. Chuck and Sarah stayed on the dance floor and watched Javier. As the band began filtering off the stage, they noticed Javier taking a very long time in his guitar case.

"All teams standby, I think we're going to have to make our move." Chuck said quickly. Before he could give any other instructions, he heard Casey's deep voice bellow "Gun!" and the sound of screaming rent the air before all hell broke loose.

"All teams execute! Take down all targets!" Eagle-eye shouted.

Chuck and Sarah immediately pulled their guns as they saw Casey tackling Cruz to the ground off the stage. The two teams near the stage swarmed onto the dog pile and helped him out. Sarah rushed over to ensure their partner didn't accidentally get killed as Chuck moved to Target Bravo who had quickly been surprised and overwhelmed by teams three and four. Both targets were quickly in custody and all the agents holstered their weapons as police sirens were heard outside.

Chuck, Sarah and Casey walked up to each other and exchange glances.

"That actually went…according to plan. When's the last time that happened?" Chuck asked.

"Not since before we've been working together Bartowski, thanks to you not knowing how to stay in the car." Casey answered.

"You know what, I'd like to point out that I saved your ass multiple times, before I was even trained thank you very much."

Chuck and Casey bickered good-naturedly all the way out to their cars, stopping only when Sarah tugged him to her Porsche, bidding Casey goodnight and a promise to see him in the morning for the debriefing.

They rode home in good spirits, discussing mundane things that were completely non-spy related and Sarah marveled in the absolute normalcy of it all. She never thought she would experience an enjoyable car ride with her boyfriend – fiancé, she corrected herself – discussing what they wanted to do for lunch the next day and what movies were coming out that they wanted to see. When they got home, she parked the Porsche and walked through the courtyard, arm-in-arm with Chuck. They opened the door and a black blur suddenly came flying at them with a high pitched screech.

Chuck quickly moved his left foot back and prepared to throw his attacker over his shoulder until the assailant's words penetrated through his defensive fog – Morgan was home. Sarah, however, had not powered down her defensive mode as quickly. She grabbed Morgan by the shoulders and yanked him backwards, throwing him flat on his back and pulling a knife from God knows where, holding it to his throat. Her eyes widen as she saw his face and she realized her mistake.

"Morgan, what the hell?" She shouted. "You just got back from training at the Farm, you should know better than to do that!"

"Wow, that was intense!" Morgan shouted as Chuck pulled him to his feet. "They talk about how good you two are at the farm all the time but there's nothing like seeing it firsthand. Sorry guys, I just missed you is all." He finished, a bit sheepishly.

"It's okay buddy, we missed you too." Chuck said as he looked at his best friend. His weeks at the farm forced him to put on a bit of muscle, but not an excessive amount. To someone who didn't spend as much time with Morgan as Chuck had, he probably didn't look any different but Chuck knew better.

"Wow, the Farm was pretty good to you. You going to come running with us in the mornings now?" Chuck asked as he snaked his arm around him, leading him to the kitchen.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, thanks Chuck. Have you guys been busy while I've been gone?"

The three of them were shortly joined by Casey for a celebratory drink after their successful mission, and the four of them spent some time enjoying each other's company – and a fair amount of time ribbing Casey for his last cover identity. Close to eleven pm, Devon stopped by when he saw the lights on and invited them to dinner at the end of the week.

"So is this what a debrief looks like?" Awesome asked in awe.

"No Devon, this is just drinks with friends. Not everything we do is always spy related." Chuck replied with a laugh.

"I guess not bro, but it's still awesome." Devon stayed for a little while longer before the mini-party broke up and everyone went their separate ways. Chuck and Morgan offered to clean up the apartment while Sarah got ready for bed.

"So look dude," Morgan started awkwardly. "With you two being engaged now, and me having an extra income with this whole spy deal…I think it's time I start looking for my own place."

Chuck spilled the glass that he had been picking up out of surprise. "What? But Morgan, you know we love having you here! You can't move out, that's ridiculous!"

"Chuck, it's fine, I promise. You and Sarah are getting married, you need your own place. You don't need me hanging around like you're weird, over-grown child."

"But where would you go buddy?" Chuck asked, defeated.

"Well…I've actually been talking to Casey about taking his extra room. He was against it at first, but I think I finally got under his skin. Although, he says it's just so he can keep on eye on me and make sure that my training was sufficient. Something about the CIA not knowing how to train real agents."

Chuck laughed lightly. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

They stood awkwardly and looked at each other. Before they could say anymore though, they heard a shout and the sound of something heavy being thrown against a wall coming from down the hall. The two spies took off running, pulling weapons as they went. Chuck kicked in the door to his bedroom and took in the scene at a glance. The desk was knocked over and papers were all over the floor. Sarah was on the ground with a black-clad attacker on top of her, holding a knife to her throat.

Chuck wasted no time, pressing the advantage of their surprise he charged at the assailant and tackled them, pinning them to the wall by the throat. Morgan followed quickly behind and placed the muzzle of his Sig 1911 under the attacker's chin.

"Stop!" Sarah shouted.

Chuck paused mid-snarl and inclined his head towards her, not taking his eyes off the masked assailant.

"Stop, Chuck. It's Carina." Sarah said.

Chuck ripped the mask off her head to reveal the fiery red hair and fierce gray eyes of Carina Miller.

"Carina? What the hell?" Chuck shouted.

"Carina," Morgan said, mouth slightly open.

"Chuck…Martin," Carina replied with a predatory smile. "Did you miss me?"

* * *

 **January 11, 2010**

 **Castle**

 **1928 Pacific Time**

"Hello Team," Beckman began in her usual greeting. "Carina Miller has been playing the girlfriend of suspected arms smuggler, Karl Stromberg. Through her efforts we have learned that ten million dollars was recently wired into Stromberg's account."

"We're unsure what type of weapon this is, but someone is obviously willing to pay a lot of money for it." Carina said. "My 'engagement' party is today at Karl's house. Sarah and Chuck will enter as my best friend and her boyfriend – "

"Fiancé!" Sarah corrected sharply.

"And Casey will pose as my father." Carina finished up as though she hadn't been interrupted.

"Uhh, check your math sister. I'll play your brother." Casey said, agitated.

"That's a bit of a stretch, Colonel."

"Yeah, Casey, I'm pretty sure you have dungarees that are older than Carina." Chuck said.

"Colonel you will assume the identity of Agent Miller's Uncle." Beckman said, ending the argument.

"Carina's father's much younger brother." Casey said under his breath.

"Karl's storing the weapon in a gold case inside a vault room attached to his bedroom. During his toast, Sarah and Chuck will slip out, break in and apprehend it. He keeps the access card to the secured area in his pants which I can easily access." Carina summarized.

"Ha, I'll bet you can." Casey sarcastically muttered. Carina quickly glared at him but then continued without a word.

"Karl also recently installed a state-of-the-art security system in the vault room itself, so hopefully the two of you can handle anything you find there." She finished, inclining her head towards Chuck and Sarah.

"It won't be a problem. Chuck will be able to handle any security system we find there." Sarah said with a hint of pride.

"He'd better be." Carina said, mirroring Sarah's pride with an equal amount of doubt and derision.

"This mission rides on you, Chuck. Do what you do best." Beckman finished, taking Carina aback by the amount confidence infused in the notorious General's tone. "Are there any questions?"

"General," Chuck began, waiting to continue until his superior acknowledged him. "Once we've secured the case, what are our extraction options?"

"The case is the priority here, however we would like to leave Agent Miller's cover intact if possible. We have an agent inserted in the catering staff, who will be waiting at the bottom of the south stairs. Leave the area in that direction and leave the case with him before returning to the party. Challenge phrase is 'what time is dessert?' and authentication phrase is 'apparently five minutes ago.'" Beckman said as Casey sniggered.

"What, Casey? Couldn't convince her to make it about mixing chocolate and peanut butter?" Chuck asked.

"This is obviously the best case scenario," Beckman continued with a hint of annoyance. "If this option is unavailable then Mr. Stromberg and all of his guests are expendable. I will have a tactical team in place less than five minutes away but please try and avoid this option for once. Yes, Colonel, I am speaking to you."

Casey looked vaguely hurt as the general asked if anyone else had questions. When no one spoke up, the line went dead and the four spies began preparing their equipment, checking out various items from the armory as they deemed them necessary. Chuck began laughing hysterically and Sarah had to put her foot down as Casey tried to sign out his beloved M134 mini-gun.

"I'll leave it in the car!" Casey said defensively.

"Casey, we are not going to get into that serious of a firefight and if we do then I will wash the vic for a week." Sarah said sarcastically.

"Sarah, what's wrong with you? Are you trying to jinx us?" Chuck asked, aghast.

"What?" Sarah wrinkled her brow in confusion.

"You can't go around saying things like that! Now we're almost definitely going to get in some crazy shootout!" Chuck exclaimed, shaking his head at her naivety.

"Chuck that's ridiculous," Sarah said, laughing. "We're going to be fine, don't worry."

Chuck continued packing his gear as he grumbled under his breath about no mission with Carina being fine. Sarah ignored him as she checked for any follow-up messages from Beckman on their mainframe.

"Any additional?" Casey asked, entering the room silently.

"Nothing from Beckman. Matt sent us any data the Ring had on Stromberg but it's nothing new from what Carina had. Oh, new message from Bryce." Sarah clicked the flashing icon as they received the new message. "Oh you've got to be kidding me."

"What? What's the CIA pretty boy up to now?" Casey asked.

"He's tracking down a Ring cell in the U.K. and he ran into Cole Barker. Somehow we came up in conversation and now they're the best of friends. Well, at least we have additional resources that are read in on the Ring and the Intersect if things go sideways. What is it Casey?" Sarah asked sharply, frowning at the Colonel as he had been smirking at her for the duration of the conversation.

"Who exactly came up in conversation? 'We' as in the team, or 'we' as in an attractive blonde agent who both of them have tried and failed to get with?" Casey laughed as Sarah threw a nearby pen at him. "For what it's worth, Walker, you picked the right guy on this one." Casey finished, walking off without another word and leaving Sarah stunned with her mouth slightly open. Casey had never been one to talk about personal feelings and that was about the most personal conversation they had ever had. And the whole thing had lasted less than ten seconds. Sarah shook off her surprise and signed off the mainframe, picking up her bag and holding out her hand for Chuck to take as they walked out of Castle.

* * *

 **January 12, 2010**

 **Stromberg Villa**

 **0930 Pacific Time**

"Congratulations, you two are going to have the most amazing life together." Sarah said with a magnificent smile.

"You are a very lucky man Karl, we couldn't hope for a better match for Carina."

"Thanks Chuck, I'm sure you're going to be next up the altar." Carl said, punching Chuck in the shoulder.

"We are, actually." Sarah quickly responded, still smiling as she held up her left hand and showed off the ring Chuck had given her.

"Sarah! When were you planning on telling me?" Carina asked, real frustration painted on her face. Sarah angrily pulled her aside in a huff and remind her that she had told her at least three times already, but Carina had promptly brushed this aside as part of the cover, pointing out that the lack of a ring sold out her lie. Was it Sarah's fault she didn't like to wear the ring at work? She didn't want to risk losing the beautiful symbol of their love and promise of more to come while in some water-logged sewer in Barcelona. She was spared further argument as Casey wandered nearby in full disguise.

"Ah, sweetheart, I want to introduce you to my Uncle Johnny!" Carina said, giving Sarah one last scathing look that clearly stated the conversation was not over. As Karl embraced Casey, Chuck and Sarah quietly slipped away towards the stairs. They eyed Carina for a while, sipping at their champagne until they saw the couple separate and Karl headed up to his office. Chuck and Sarah quietly followed, observing as Carina soon joined her "fiancé." After watching them converse Carina gave a signal and they walked into the study, surreptitiously grabbing Karl's access card as they went. They made their way to the banister and made a show of being a very loving, very visible couple to prevent suspicion.

"Bedroom access is at your six o'clock. We'll move when the room is distracted by the toast." Sarah said.

"Sounds good, Sarah. Have I told you how amazing you look in that dress? Really brings out your eyes." Chuck said.

Sarah scoffed as she skeptically viewed Chuck through her eyelashes.

"Brings out my eyes?" She looked up, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a twitch of her head. "Are you sure that is the only reason?" She asked, pressing into Chuck's body as he held his arms open for her.

Chuck opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by the clinking of a champagne glass as Karl prepared to give his speech.

"I guess you'll have to find out later, duty calls." Chuck said with a smile.

The two slipped off into the bedroom, unnoticed by the room at large. They snuck into the room and quickly found the vault just off the main room. Sarah slid the card through the slot and the door smoothly slid open, revealing a large room with roving lasers.

"Lasers, really? Bit James Bondy isn't it?" Chuck asked.

"Don't act like you don't like it. Can you make it through them?" She asked.

"Umm…that's a good question." He paused for a second and watched the lasers. Soon his vision blurred and he flashed on gymnastics and tumbling maneuvers. "Um, yes, I think so. Only one way to find out."

Sarah's jaw dropped as Chuck flipped, twisted and rolled through the moving lasers, using the room to his advantage as he avoided setting off the security system. She had seen Chuck in action a good many times, but this was something completely different, she had never seen anyone move like he did. In no time at all he had retrieved the gold-colored case from the other side of the room and made his way back. As he reached the threshold, a smile lit up Sarah's face but it was quickly wiped away as Chuck lost his balance and began to fall backwards. Sarah lunged forward and just barely grabbed his wrist, yanking him forward towards her. They collapsed in a heap on the floor and laughed quietly as Chuck quickly planted a kiss on Sarah's lips.

"Sarah, I love you." Chuck said with a hint of exhaustion. He dropped his head to the ground for a moment before pushing himself up and offering Sarah his hand off the floor. Chuck untucked his shirt and put the case up against his back before tucking his shirt back in while Sarah held the case in place. Putting his suit jacket back on, Sarah nodded in approval before they moved to the extraction point. Before they could make it to the south staircase, they heard approaching footsteps.

"Quick, in here!" Sarah whispered, opening a door and pushing Chuck inside. They quickly closed the door as they heard the sound of running feet move passed. "Okay, I think we're good." She said as she slowly slipped the door back open.

Chuck and Sarah darted outside and quickly but silently ran down the hallway, keeping an eye out for any other guards.

"Well, no alarms or shouts yet, I'm guessing they didn't find anything in the bedroom. So far, so good."

"Let's go," Chuck said, pulling Sarah along by the hand. They traveled down the hallway. Finally, they located the staircase and traveled down at a rapid pace. At the bottom, the stairs opened up into the kitchen where at least a dozen cooks and staff wandered around. No sooner had they stepped into the room than a familiar silhouette walked towards them.

"Sir, ma'am, how can I help you?" A wide smile split the man's bearded face has he practically bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Well, we were just wondering what time dessert was?" Sarah said quickly.

"Oh, it was apparently five minutes ago, but I'm sure we still have some left-over. Right this way," the man said as he led them down a back hallway and out an exterior door.

"Where are we going Morgan?" Chuck asked exasperatedly.

"Trust in the Grimes, my friend. Trust in the Grimes." Morgan said with a sly smile.

They walked for about 100 feet before a white panel van with the logo of the catering company splashed across the side pulled out from its parking space and slowly drove towards them. To everyone at the party, it looked just like the other four vans present but to Chuck's trained eye, he quickly picked up on the run-flat tires, armor reinforced paneling, and thick, Plexiglas windows. The three crossed in front of the van and noticed that the side door was already sitting open. They quickly began jogging at pace with the van and all three jumped up inside before closing the door. The van accelerated and in no time at all they were outside the compound walls and picking up speed as they approached the main highway.

"Well, that went fairly smoothly." Morgan said.

"Let's hold on until Casey makes it out of there before we start saying things like that." Chuck said quickly but with a smile. Despite the outward calm, Chuck was nervous. He was confident that Karl and his guards didn't immediately know about the Op or they wouldn't have been able to leave the premises, but that didn't mean that they hadn't figured it out by now. Until they heard otherwise, Chuck was preparing possible rescue scenarios for Casey and Carina if necessary. One look at Sarah told him that she was sharing the same concern. He reached out and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

They rode for ten more tense minutes before the radio finally crackled to life.

"Casey here, I'm in the clear and on the move to the rendezvous point. No signs that they were alerted to the Op, Carina will check in later tonight."

"Copy that Casey, see you soon." Chuck said. He smiled and let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. They drove the rest of the way in a comfortable silence until they arrived at the Orange Orange. They all walked inside and placed the case on the center table as they waited for Casey to catch up. After stowing their gear, Casey appeared and walked down the stairs, right as the monitor beeped and announced Beckman's electronic arrival.

"Good job recovering the weapon," Beckman began without preamble. "I'm happy to see we avoided any major incidents this time."

"What is this thing, General?" Casey asked, inspecting thick, circular object inside the case. "I've never seen a weapon like it before."

"That information is above your paygrade, Colonel Casey. Agent Miller will return it to Langley on her way to her next assignment when she returns from the party. But as for you four, you never saw it." With that, the screen went black and the four spies were once again alone.

"Well, what do you got for us Chuck?" Casey asked expectantly.

Chuck's eyebrows knit together and he frowned as he looked inside the case.

"Nothing…whatever this is, it isn't in the Intersect."

Casey and Sarah looked equally concerned at this news while Morgan looked confused.

"Is that bad?" Morgan asked.

"Well, it's either nothing…or very bad, Morgan. Anything that isn't in the Intersect is either insignificant or bad enough that it is at the highest level of classified."

Morgan began to look concerned too, but he quickly smiled. "Eh, I'm sure it's nothing, guys. Even if it is something bad, we got it back now. Don't worry about it, we kicked ass, again!" Morgan performed a quick high kick as he said this, causing Casey to roll his eyes and growl as he walked towards the armory, complaining about amateurs.

Chuck just shook his head at their antics as the door opened and Carina walked down the stairs.

"What, done partying already?" He asked.

"Well, when I was left alone with a family full of weapons dealers the party kind of lost its luster. But, we're over now. I broke up with him after the party, told him my Uncle Johnny made me realize that married life just wasn't what I wanted. We left on…less than amicable terms but he'll get over it I'm sure."

"So you gonna tell us what's in the case?" Casey asked, walking back into the room while wiping his SIG Sauer with a rag.

"I don't know, they wouldn't tell me either. I was hoping you or Chuckles would know, but I guess not."

Casey looked pissed at this news and bared his teeth. "They never let me play with the fun explosives. One close call and they stop giving the good stuff…" Casey's grumbling followed him all the way upstairs until the door slammed. Everyone laughed lightly as they continued logging gear into the armory.

"Walker, we need to talk." Carina said seriously. Sarah looked up at her reluctantly.

Chuck looked between the two of them, then grabbed Morgan.

"Come on Morgan, we should make an appearance upstairs finally, we haven't been there all day." They walked up the stairs, giving Sarah and Carina some privacy.

Sarah continued cleaning her equipment, waiting for Carina to start.

Carina studied her closely with a slight frown on her face before starting in.

"What happened to you Walker? You go from one of the best agents I've ever worked with to a love-sick teenager. I hardly even recognize you anymore." She sounded almost disappointed and more than a little surprised.

"Was my performance substandard today?" Sarah asked with a chill in her voice, causing Carina to pause.

"Since when do you talk to me like I'm some DEA desk jockey?"

"Since when do you talk to me like I'm some CIA amateur?" Sarah shot back.

"Hmph. Well played, Walker. Seriously, what's the deal? You've changed quite a bit since the CAT squad days."

"Well, people change Carina, but that doesn't make it a bad thing. You've only met Chuck twice, get to know him a little bit and he'll have even you ready to settle down. Actually, no, don't do that. I don't need you getting any ideas." Sarah said with a half-smile.

Carina sighed and sat down next to her best friend. "Settling down is one thing…getting married is another thing entirely. Are you sure about this? About him?"

"I'm sure," Sarah answered without missing a beat.

"Yeah, I knew you were going to say that." She said with a smile. "I've known since the first time I worked with you guys, you were already gone, you just didn't know it yet."

"So then why all the questions?" She asked incredulously.

"Because I needed to know that you knew you were already done for. All kidding aside, I'm happy for you. Not the same choice I would make, but it's your life. I better get an invite to the wedding." Carina finished with a laugh.

Sarah chuckled. "Of course, you're going to be one of my bridesmaids." The two spies hugged, ending their disagreement.

"Jag kommer att sakna dig kompis." Carina whispered.

"Stesknie sie za toba tez." She answered.

The two walked up the stairs from Castle and quickly found Chuck and Morgan. The four of them walked outside together before Morgan offered to drive Carina to the airport. Chuck said goodbye to Carina and they went their separate ways.

"Well, nothing good is going to come of that car ride." Chuck said, shaking his head.

"No, probably not," Sarah answered, laughing.

"Anything earth-shattering you guys talked about?" Chuck tried to act nonchalant, but his unease was evident.

"No, she just wanted to see where my head was at. We're on the same page now though."

"Good, I'm glad." Chuck was curious but he decided to respect her privacy and let the issue drop.

"Me too," Sarah said with a smile, pulling Chuck's arm around her waist as she placed her hand in his back pocket before they arrived at Chuck's Camaro and they headed home.


End file.
